On Sunday night, Newcastle United beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the English Premier League to move into the top 4 of the table. Newcastle continued their brilliant run in the Premier League this season and stunned the hosts as Callum Wilson and Almiron found the net in the first half to give the visitors a 2-0 lead at halftime. Even though Harry Kane pulled one back in the early minutes of the second half, Tottenham couldn’t find their finishing boot again as they succumbed to a brilliant Newcastle show.
We’ve broken down all the key stats for you to digest, including;
* shot maps
* xT (expected threat)
* pass networks
* xG timelines * defensive duels
* average positions and much more!
We also try to answer some questions for you with the visuals;
How did Newcastle’s high number of interceptions help them deny Tottenham three points? Where did it go wrong for Tottenham, even after having a high xG of 1.86?
To navigate the stats gallery simply click on the numbers to move through the pages.
Antonio Conte’s side went into the match with a 3-5-2 formation with Harry Kane and Son leading the lines and with Emerson Royal and Sessegnon staying wide on either flank. He later changed to a 3-4-2-1 formation after 66 minutes.
Newcastle stuck to their usual 4-3-3 formation with Callum Wilson as the lone striker and Almiron and Joelinton on either wing.
Tottenham enjoyed 51.83% of possession but failed to convert their possession into victory. The home side looked a bit shattered and lost possession of the ball when they conceded two goals, but regained possession in the second half.
Newcastle had 49.2 per cent possession of the ball but still managed to score two goals. They had very little possession in the last quarter of the match but managed to cling on to the lead and snatched the victory.
Tottenham had 16 shots but only five of them were on target, of which they could only convert one of them. Harry Kane’s goal gave the home team some hope, but they couldn’t finish other chances.
Newcastle United managed 12 shots on target out of which only five were on target. But they were able to convert two of them which was enough to collect the three points from the tie.
Tottenham’s major chunk of attacks came through the centre, with 48% of their attacks coming through the centre. They couldn’t make use of the higher xG they had while attacking through the centre and convert it into enough goals.
Newcastle, on the other hand, tried to make use of the width as well, with attacks coming from both wings and through the centre.
Tottenham had the higher xG rate of 1.86. They had five shots from inside the penalty box.
Newcastle ended the match with an xG rate of 1.18.
Tottenham Hotspur attempted a total of 445 passes, completing 356 of them with an 80% success rate. Major chunks of passes were through the centre, but they also made good use of the width by playing it to the wide players.
Newcastle attempted 392 passes, of which 332 were completed, and had a higher passing accuracy of 84.26%. Their combinational play on the right wing was very impressive, with Trippier and Almiron ending up with the highest number of passes between two players.
Spurs recovered the ball 86 times, with Eric Dier recovering 17 times for them. But the home side couldn’t recover the ball enough in the final third. Most of the recoveries were in the defensive third.
Newcastle managed to win the ball back 88 times and recovered possession much more often in the final third than the home side. Kieran Trippier and Botman made the most recoveries.
Tottenham attempted 197 duels and won 95 of them. Bentecaur ended up with the highest number of duels for the home team. He contested 25 duels with a 56% success rate.
The visitors contested 197 duels as well and completed 91 of them, with a success rate of 46.12%. Bruno Guimaraes contested the greatest number of duels for Newcastle.
The home side participated in 58 defensive duels, with Bentancur and Lenglet having the most number of duels (nine) for them.
Newcastle participated in 57 defensive duels, with Bruno Guimaraes making the most number of defensive duels for them (nine).
Tottenham contested a total of 40 aerial duels. Eric Dier made 7 of them and had a success rate of 57%.
The visitors also competed in 40 aerial duels, and Callum Wilson used his height to his advantage, winning 7 of them with a 57% success rate.
Tottenham Hotspur made only 38 interceptions during the whole game. And most of them were in the defensive third. Bentancur came away with the highest number of interceptions (eight).
Compared to the home team, the visitors made almost twice the number of interceptions. The interceptions they made in the final third helped them to regain possession and therefore pose a greater attacking threat.
Tottenham got off to their greatest start ever in the Premier League this season but slipped up against Manchester United and Newcastle United in two consecutive matches. Even though they sit well in the third position on the table, Conte will not be happy with the team’s recent form and will look to get back to winning ways when they face Sporting in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Visuals via Wyscout