Isak scores twice as Newcastle thump Spurs
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Alexander Isak's rich goalscoring form at St James' Park continued as Newcastle beat Tottenham to boost their hopes of European football next season.
Isak produced two clinical finishes to score in each half as he netted on home turf for the sixth consecutive match.
The striker now has 17 goals in 24 Premier League appearances this season.
Anthony Gordan and Fabian Schar were also on target for the Magpies, while Timo Werner had two chances for Spurs but his finishing let him down.
Newcastle's emphatic victory lifted them up to sixth in the table - a point ahead of Manchester United, who face Bournemouth at 17:30 BST on Saturday.
Spurs dropped to fifth, below Aston Villa on goal difference.
Isak the latest in lineage of Newcastle strikers
From Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole to Malcolm Macdonald and Jackie Milburn, Newcastle's fans have long held a special affinity for a goalscoring striker.
Isak may have the number 14 emblazoned on the back of his shirt, but the Sweden striker is cut from the same cloth as names typically associated with the fabled number nine.
In the Premier League era, only two men have scored in more successive games than Isak - Shearer (15) and Cole (eight) - to underline why he will quickly establish himself as a hero on Tyneside.
The double he scored in this one-sided victory over Spurs underlined his finishing prowess as Newcastle left the visitors dazed in the spring sunshine.
Isak opened the scoring after he received the ball from Gordon, cut inside, then powerfully struck a low shot into corner of the net.
The goal was the first scored since Newcastle introduced "sound shirts" which allow deaf fans to feel the noise of St James' Park.
Newcastle captain Dan Burn used sign language to say "love the fans" during the celebrations that followed Isak's strike.
Gordon added a second after he latched on to Pedro Porro's miscued clearance, before Isak effectively made the points safe after the interval.
The 24-year-old initially looked to be offside when he burst through on goal, opened up his body and steered the ball past Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
But Isak had timed his run, from inside his own half, to perfection before he produced an ice-cool finish.
A hat-trick evaded Isak - Schar added a fourth with a header from a Gordon corner - but he was firmly the name on the lips of those streaming out of the Gallowgate End at the full-time whistle.
Werner's woes as Spurs struggle
Tottenham had failed to find the net in only one of their past 43 league matches before this encounter.
There was a lot of promise in patches of their attacking play in the opening third of the game.
Newcastle's defenders did a fine job of stymying the effectiveness of Son Heung-min, which left a player with 15 goals and nine assists this season a peripheral figure.
However, two fine chances did come the way of Germany forward Werner in the first half when the match was still a contest.
Werner lifted a volley high over the crossbar from a Brennan Johnson cross when he might have been better placed to head the ball.
The 28-year-old - on loan with Spurs from RB Leipzig - also scuffed a shot inside the penalty area when well placed.
Failure to capitalise on their chances, and some slipshod defending, resulted in a chastening defeat for Tottenham.
It was undoubtedly a setback for their Champions League hopes, even if manager Ange Postecoglou has being doing much to play down expectation.
With Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City to play in four of their next five games, Spurs need to be more clinical to finish in the top four.
Player of the match
IsakAlexander Isak
Newcastle United
Squad number14Player nameIsak
Average rating8.91
Squad number10Player nameGordon
Average rating8.54
Squad number39Player nameBruno Guimarães
Average rating8.43
Squad number5Player nameSchär
Average rating8.38
Squad number15Player nameBarnes
Average rating8.05
Squad number33Player nameBurn
Average rating7.73
Squad number23Player nameMurphy
Average rating7.55
Squad number21Player nameLivramento
Average rating7.51
Squad number32Player nameAnderson
Average rating7.51
Squad number17Player nameKrafth
Average rating7.49
Squad number20Player nameHall
Average rating7.42
Squad number1Player nameDúbravka
Average rating7.34
Squad number40Player nameWhite
Average rating7.06
Squad number11Player nameRitchie
Average rating7.03
Squad number3Player nameDummett
Average rating6.85
Squad number36Player nameS Longstaff
Average rating5.47
Tottenham Hotspur
Squad number13Player nameVicario
Average rating3.64
- Squad number7Player nameSon Heung-minAverage rating
3.64
Squad number22Player nameJohnson
Average rating3.59
Squad number30Player nameBentancur
Average rating3.29
Squad number38Player nameUdogie
Average rating3.29
Squad number10Player nameMaddison
Average rating3.24
Squad number16Player nameWerner
Average rating3.24
Squad number23Player namePorro
Average rating3.23
Squad number5Player nameHøjbjerg
Average rating3.21
Squad number21Player nameKulusevski
Average rating3.13
Squad number17Player nameRomero
Average rating3.12
Squad number8Player nameBissouma
Average rating3.08
Squad number37Player namevan de Ven
Average rating3.04
Squad number12Player nameEmerson Royal
Average rating3.04
Squad number29Player nameSarr
Average rating3.01
Squad number18Player nameLo Celso
Average rating2.89
Line-ups
Newcastle
Formation 4-3-3
1Dúbravka
23Murphy17Krafth5Schär33Burn
36S Longstaff39Bruno Guimarães32Anderson
10Gordon14Isak15Barnes
- 1Dúbravka
- 23MurphySubstituted forLivramentoat 78'minutes
- 17Krafth
- 5SchärSubstituted forDummettat 90+3'minutes
- 33Burn
- 36S Longstaff
- 39Bruno GuimarãesSubstituted forWhiteat 90+3'minutes
- 32AndersonSubstituted forRitchieat 89'minutes
- 10Gordon
- 14Isak
- 15BarnesSubstituted forHallat 88'minutes
Substitutes
- 3Dummett
- 11Ritchie
- 18Karius
- 20Hall
- 21Livramento
- 29Gillespie
- 40White
- 54Murphy
- 63Parkinson
Tottenham
Formation 4-2-3-1
13Vicario
23Porro17Romero37van de Ven38Udogie
8Bissouma30Bentancur
22Johnson10Maddison16Werner
7Son Heung-min
- 13Vicario
- 23PorroSubstituted forEmerson Royalat 49'minutes
- 17RomeroBooked at 56mins
- 37van de VenBooked at 27mins
- 38Udogie
- 8BissoumaBooked at 47minsSubstituted forHøjbjergat 57'minutes
- 30BentancurSubstituted forSarrat 57'minutes
- 22Johnson
- 10MaddisonBooked at 61minsSubstituted forLo Celsoat 81'minutes
- 16Werner
- 7Son Heung-minSubstituted forKulusevskiat 58'minutes
Substitutes
- 5Højbjerg
- 6Dragusin
- 11Gil
- 12Emerson Royal
- 18Lo Celso
- 21Kulusevski
- 29Sarr
- 33Davies
- 40Austin
Match Stats
Live Text
Match ends, Newcastle United 4, Tottenham Hotspur 0.