Sandro Tonali’s brutal four-letter Newcastle United reception as Matthias Jaissle boogie begins
Matthias Jaissle put Tottenham Hotspur to the sword 2-0 in his first Premier League away game as Newcastle United manager.
Matthias Jaissle was absorbed in every pass, tackle and shot as he roared his Newcastle United players to another famous away win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Goals from Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa earned the Magpies a 2-0 victory in North London. Here are your five key takeaways from the clash.
£110m duo arrive
Elanga and Wissa cost a whopping £110million just over 12 months ago. In return, Newcastle were repaid with just one Premier League goal between them last season.
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The duo scored triple that tally in North London today. As much as the talk has centred around fresh faces in recent days, arguably Matthias Jaissle’s biggest challenge on arrival was getting Elanga and Wissa firing.
Make no mistake, while they produced the goods, the goals should not mask Newcastle’s deficiencies in attack. The first shot on target Jaissle’s men managed - on 62 minutes - bundled its way into the back of the net.
The Toon boss has expressed his desire for fresh faces - putting the onus on the St James’ Park hierarchy to deliver. It will no doubt be a busy final 72 hours - time will tell whether the German gets his wish.
Let the boogey begin!
For the first time since his appointment, the Baccara-inspired “Yes sir, I can boogie” aired loud and proud from the Newcastle fans in the terraces. When the stadium DJ played the song after the win over West Bromwich Albion in midweek, there was a lack of cohesion with the words.
This time, however, the Newcastle fans had agreed upon a set of lyrics and could be heard across London. The boogie will no doubt last long into the night after this one - and deservedly so.
Sandro Tonali reception
The Italian’s return was one of the key talking points before kick-off. When asked by The Gazette whether he would encourage an Alexander Isak-style reaction, Matthias Jaissle laughed and paused before giving a diplomatic response.
Tonali had been on the charm offensive - some may claim a PR-spinning exercise - prior to kick-off. He opened up to Sky Sports about his apparent love for the Magpies.
However, it only took the stadium PA system announcing Tonali’s name for the travelling Newcastle fans to give him a piece of their mind - namely the most vulgar four-letter word in the English language. Like Isak last weekend, every touch was booed until being hooked . Just deserts given his conduct to leave at any cost over the summer.
Nico Gonzalez watch
Gonzalez received a warm Geordie reception in midweek - and was thrown straight into the action this evening. If his nerves were jangling ahead of the game, they likely spiked when referee Peter Bankes booked the midfielder on 12 minutes.
Gonzalez looked exactly how you would expect: composed and cultured. A product of the La Masia youth setup, he had no qualms about dropping deep to collect possession from the centre-backs.
Throughout the contest, Gonzalez completed 58 out of 61 attempted passes. He tired in the second half but Toon fans will have been happy with their first impressions.
We’re still not used to this…
It still feels alien seeing a Newcastle goalkeeper who is comfortable in possession. This is not to take aim at Nick Pope - a brilliant goalkeeper for the Magpies.
But Hornicek’s distribution transmits calmness throughout the Newcastle backline. Whether the Czech proves himself as a better shot-stopper remains to be seen, although he produced two fantastic saves to deny Mathys Tel and Jan Paul van Hecke.
The 24-year-old kept Newcastle in the game at the break. His dark arts in the second half help them see it out.
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