Analysis: Newcastle

Head coach Rafael Benitez elected to begin the new season with a 4-4-2 structure, as the strike partnership of Ayoze Perez – who sat a little deeper – and Joselu looked to pin back the Tottenham Hotspur back line in the opening minutes. The home side started brightly, with Jonjo Shelvey’s range of passing setting the Newcastle front line in behind on a number of early occasions.

Despite conceding first after various defensive lapses from a corner, the hosts were soon level. More poor marking, this time from Spurs’ back line, freed Joselu inside the penalty area to nod home the equaliser. The left-footed Matt Richie roamed the right channel, and to make the most of his crossing abilities, right-back DeAndre Yedlin frequently moved inside. This opened up a perfect passing angle into Ritchie’s left foot, who could then cut back on to his left side and deliver into the penalty area. Newcastle’s equaliser came through this exact pattern of play, with Ritchie’s deliveries causing problems throughout the first half.

Newcastle’s intense pressing system within midfield collapsed midway through the first half, however, as Dele Alli and Moussa Sissoko moved inside to create an initial four-against-two in central midfield. To counteract this, wide midfielders Ritchie and Kenedy also moved inside, making any central play difficult for either side. In the end, though, this helped Tottenham to maintain longer spells of possession; whenever Newcastle regained the ball, they lacked the control and guile to pass their way out of Spurs’ aggressive central counter-press.

With Newcastle temporarily prioritising the central spaces when out of possession, the away side’s full-backs became an issue. The home side soon went behind again to another headed goal, as Serge Aurier’s wonderful cross was headed home by the advancing Dele Alli. Newcastle’s possession throughout the remainder of the first half was scarce and largely ineffective, in truth. Their strategy was to play every first pass forward after a regain, no matter who was available. Despite this proactive approach, they failed to demonstrate regular penetrative passes.

Newcastle looked to begin the second half in a similar manner to that of the opening period. Sissoko, who was harried and bullied when on the ball, was often the Magpies’ trigger to regain possession. The deeper the Frenchman dropped, the more aggressive the home side pressed. His limited ability to receive under pressure repeatedly enabled the home side to win the ball back, but none of their front line were able to really take advantage.

After a poor period from both sides in maintaining possession, Mohamed Diame struck the outside of the post with a rasping strike, reminding Spurs that the game was far from over. Newcastle then had another glorious chance to level, as the entire Tottenham defensive unit squeezed across over to one side, which gifted Kenedy the entire left side to attack. Despite this, a poor first touch enabled goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to smother the ball and Tottenham eventually cleared their lines.

After surviving a subsequent period of intense Tottenham pressure, Newcastle began to switch play effectively, looking to use the power and aggression of the newly introduced loan signing Salomon Rondon up front. Ritchie’s switches of play enabled the home side to bypass Tottenham’s counter-pressing midfield, setting Kenedy free to attack Aurier one on one. But with the exception of the odd flashing ball across the Tottenham box, the visitors remained largely untested. Newcastle’s attacking unit couldn’t quite connect with these deliveries, as they suffered defeat in their opening game of the Premier League season.