It may seem absurd now, but when Newcastle United welcomed Tottenham Hotspur to St James’ Park on Sunday, it was, in theory at least, a potentially pivotal clash in the race to finish in the Premier League‘s top four and secure qualification for next season’s Champions League.
Newcastle began the day in fourth place, just three points above Spurs, who had won on six of their previous eight league visits to Tyneside.
Common sense dictated that it would be a tough contest between two of the best teams in England. But as is often the case, common sense can go out of the window when it comes to the Premier League, especially when Tottenham are involved.
What followed was a stunning five-goal blitz by the midway point of the first half from the home side, with Jacob Murphy putting Newcastle ahead in the second minute of play. Eddie Howe’s team eventually ran out 6-1 winners on a memorable afternoon for all who witnessed it — albeit for wildly differing reasons.
Nowhere were the contrasting ends of the intense drama more apparent than on the two clubs’ social media accounts. As one side got increasingly more excited with an array of gifs, emojis and exclamation marks, the other’s slump deeper into despair was almost painful to watch.
Here’s how the games played out on @NUFC and @Spursofficial.
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Newcastle 1-0 Tottenham (Murphy, 2′)
Things got off to a dreadful start for Tottenham when the home side went 1-0 up inside the first two minutes as Jacob Murphy found the net with 61 seconds on the clock.
MURPHYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!
WHAT A START!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/CPXs62Zems
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) April 23, 2023
Murphy opens the scoring for the hosts.#NEWTOT // 1-0
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 23, 2023
Newcastle 2-0 Tottenham (Joelinton, 6′)
With Spurs already reeling, Fabian Schar sent a long ball over the top to Joelinton, who daintily skipped around Hugo Lloris to score Newcastle’s second goal.
JOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!! 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/MnCMG1mS5W
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) April 23, 2023
Joelinton makes it two.#NEWTOT // 2-0
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 23, 2023
Newcastle 3-0 Tottenham (Murphy, 9′)
The game was effectively over as a contest when Murphy struck from distance again after nine minutes to register his second goal of the season and his third goal in his past 70 games — 66% of which have now come against Spurs.
AN INCREDIBLE START AT ST. JAMES’ PARK!!! 🤩
We win the ball in midfield and it’s given to Murphy who goes for goal from distance and it flies majestically into the far corner. Absolute beautiful!
YOU MAGS! 🔥 https://t.co/iS4cJYFKK9 pic.twitter.com/nCJ1B6Meb1
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) April 23, 2023
Murphy adds a third.#NEWTOT // 3-0
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 23, 2023
Newcastle 4-0 Tottenham (Isak, 19′)
With Tottenham by now absolutely capitulating, Alexander Isak raced clear of a bamboozled back line to roll home a fourth goal for Newcastle with less than 20 minutes played.
JOE WILLOCK. ASSIST OF THE CENTURY.
Outside of the boot from halfway to play an inch perfect pass to find Alex Isak who never looked like missing as he slots past Lloris to make it four! https://t.co/joKfN6Vgwa pic.twitter.com/MQfMCgEMax
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) April 23, 2023
The hosts score a fourth through Isak.#NEWTOT // 4-0
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 23, 2023
Newcastle 5-0 Tottenham (Isak, 21′)
The Sweden international then took just a few seconds to add his second goal of the day, arrowing home an angled finish as Newcastle raced into the second-fastest 5-0 lead in Premier League history
21 MINUTES. FIVE. NIL.
Isak receives the ball inside the box and again, slams the ball into the net! Sensational scenes at St. James’ Park! 🤩
WOW! https://t.co/tdLkGXMNvI pic.twitter.com/btLs3NZ8Gj
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) April 23, 2023
Isak adds a fifth.#NEWTOT // 5-0
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 23, 2023
After half-time, Spurs pulled one goal back through striker Harry Kane, only for substitute Callum Wilson to restore Newcastle’s five-goal lead. But by then, Newcastle’s social media admins had long since lost all grip on reality amid a whirlwind of posts.
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) April 23, 2023
