What Newcastle United co-owner told Kieran Trippier & remarkable Harry Kane Spurs stat after 6-1

Newcastle United get the record books out

Newcastle United’s start to Sunday's game will go down in history. The club have not come close to starting a Premier League match so emphatically with Jacob Murphy scoring just after the minute mark before Joelinton and another from Murphy made it 3-0 after just nine minutes.

A quick-fire Alexander Isak brace took his tally to 10 goals for the season in only his 11th league start as Newcastle led 5-0 with just over 20 minutes on the clock.

Before Sunday, only one Premier League side had ever gone 5-0 up inside the opening quarter of a match. Manchester City were just that bit quicker in September 2019 as they went 5-0 up against Watford inside the opening 18 minutes – they went on to win the match 8-0.

It wasn’t quite a record win for Newcastle or even their biggest Premier League victory over Spurs. Harry Kane pulled a goal back in the second half before substitute Callum Wilson scored with his first touch to make it 6-1.

Still it was the club’s biggest top flight win since beating West Ham United 5-0 in January 2011. And to do so in a game of such importance just made it taste that bit sweeter.

The strange Cristian Stellini decision for Spurs

After Spurs’ 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth last weekend, acting head coach Cristian Stellini opted to name an entirely new defensive line for Sunday’s match. The back three of Clement Lenglet, Ben Davies and Davinson Sanchez all dropped to the bench as the visitors switched to a back four.

It was the first time Spurs had started with a back four in a Premier League match since January 2022 as Pedro Porro, Eric Dier, Cristian Romero and Ivan Peresic lined-up in front of Hugo Lloris.

The decision to switch up the defence would quickly prove to be a mistake as Stellini even admitted after the match. With Spurs shell shocked at 5-0 down after 21 minutes, they soon reverted to their familiar back five formation and improved considerably – though the damage had already been done with some away supporters heading to the exit with less than a quarter of the game gone. Credit to those who stayed and remained vocal in the face of a humiliating defeat.

The stunning Harry Kane stat against Newcastle

Harry Kane’s second half strike proved to be a mere consolation in the game as he continued his fine scoring run at St James’ Park. With seven Premier League goals at the ground, only Wayne Rooney has scored more as a visiting player with nine.

But that is arguably not the most intriguing stat involving the England captain on Sunday afternoon. In the first half, Kane completed all 13 of his attempted passes in the match though four of them came from kick-off. Further exemplifying Newcastle’s dominance.

Almost a third of Kane’s first half passes came as a result of Newcastle scoring. If only he had taken kick-off to start the game or after one of Newcastle’s goals instead of Oliver Skipp!

Eddie Howe’s managerial ‘flex’

We don’t think the Newcastle boss was showing off here, but it’s some statement when you can substitute off two players on a hat-trick in Jacob Murphy and Alexander Isak when you’re leading 5-1 in a match with 25 minutes remaining and bring on your top two scorers.

That’s exactly what Howe did as Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron, on 10 and 11 goals respectively this season, were introduced. The pair combined for Newcastle’s sixth just over a minute after coming on as Almiron’s effort deflected into the path of Wilson to poke in his 11th of the campaign.

And with Isak becoming the fastest Newcastle player to reach double figures in the Premier League since Papiss Cisse – it’s the first time in a Premier League season Newcastle have had three players reach double figures for goals.

Wilson’s goal also continued the Magpies’ impressive run of having substitutes on the scoresheet. In all four of the club’s wins at St James’ Park in 2023, a substitute has found the net. The recent 5-1 win at West Ham also saw Isak find the net from the bench as Howe continues to demonstrate the strength of his squad.

Mehrdad Ghodoussi’s four-word statement to Kieran Trippier after Newcastle United win

Newcastle co-owners Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Jamie Reuben congratulated Eddie Howe, his staff and players as they left the field following a celebratory lap of the pitch at St James’ Park. Both Reuben and Ghodoussi embraced and spoke to each individual member of the squad with the latter grabbing Kieran Trippier and passionately saying “what a ******* result’ in United right-back’s ear.

And what a result it was in a game where even a draw may have suited Newcastle in the battle for Champions League football – though Howe wouldn’t entertain that notion ahead of the game – they completely blew away one of their biggest top four rivals.

Following the match, Ghodoussi summed things up with a tweet: “This team proved today that anything is possible with passion, perseverance, and a strong team spirit. Their victory was not just a win, it was a statement.”

Newcastle are now six points clear inside the Champions League places with significantly better goal difference than the teams below them. They have seven games to try and secure a place in the group stages of club football’s elite competition for the first time in over 20 years.