Tottenham: Positives from 2-3 Spurs win over Newcastle

The Tottenham midfield is improving

Granted Spurs were playing one of the weaker teams in the Premier League in Newcastle, however, the Tottenham midfield certainly bossed the match.

Early in the game when Newcastle was still on the ball and pushing, it was Oliver Skipp who was working hard defensively winning the ball back for Tottenham. Skipp made several tackles in and around the box and helped to stem the tide as Newcastle tried to ride the early momentum. Fortunately for Tottenham, as things began to settle down both Tanguy Ndombele and Pierre Hojbjerg grew into the match.

While Skipp was solid defensively he did not provide much offense against the Magpies, mostly because he did not have to. Tanguy Ndombele may have played his best game for Tottenham, popping up in all the right places, even if his final ball was still not always perfect. It was Ndombele’s goal which tied the match and his confidence with and on the ball was infectious for Spurs.

Pierre Hojbjerg was also terrific in the match playing higher up the pitch after Tottenham took control. Hojbjerg is growing in his comfort in the final third and he had a nice assist on the ball over-the-top to Harry Kane.

Spurs have struggled in the midfield at times this season, not on Sunday when they got a complete 270 minutes from their trio.

Harry Kane looked sharp for Spurs

Many wanted to talk about how Harry Kane’s poor form with Tottenham had finally caught up to him with the Three Lions when he did not score for England. However, if you look at Sunday, Kane’s form seems just fine.

Harry Kane was terrific across the attacking half of the pitch. Kane worked hard to win the ball and hold up possession. Kane dropped deep to pick up the ball and distribute it around. And of course, Kane scored and assisted like he did all of last season.

Kane’s goal was a thing of beauty as he cooly used the outside of his boot to beat Karl Darlow. Then the assist Kane provided to Heung-Min Son showed exactly what a player is supposed to do when the pass makes shooting impractical, play a good square ball.

Kane did not get a lot of chances in the box but he did great with what he had and Spurs got two goals as a result. Maybe Kane is not fully back but he is back enough.