Tottenham Hotspur got it handed to them again on Saturday afternoon, as Newcastle United found two good goals and then turned Spurs into mince meat, with this squad, once again, wilting when put under pressure and unable to show any fight to come back
As was the case on Matchday 1 when Tottenham lost 3-0 to local rivals Brentford, there were very, very few performances that were in the positive column for Spurs. But there was one solitary player who was actually good in both games, even as the rest of his midfield teammates were not exactly impressive.
The 85 million pound signing Mateus Fernandes was quietly brilliant once more, creating three chances for a Tottenham team that had nothing going for it creatively outside of new striker Omar Marmoush, who also tied him withi three key passes to the good.
Mateus Fernandes is exceeding his sky high expectations
Better yet, Fernandes also pressed hard and defended well. He had a great all around game, starting as the No. 10 in lieu of any other options, as Conor Gallagher was outright disastrous against Brentford while James Maddison suffered another injury while coming off the bench in the 3-0 loss, falling hard to dislocate his shoulder.
Astute Tottenham supporters had already tabbed Fernandes as the best option to play at the 10 with all the issues going on, and the Portuguese international totally delivered, showing great quality offensively and defensively both in terms of ball winning and creative work.
In doing so, Mateus Fernandes has sent a strong statement to Roberto De Zerbi that while Sandro Tonali was De Zerbi's No. 1 pick to the midfield general of Tottenham, Fernandes, at a younger age, is immediately translating better and outplaying him no matter the role.
Early days, of course, but Fernandes is showing De Zerbi that he is just as much of a pillar of the team as Tonali will be and might be their most important player right now. What he is doing jumping from a relegated West Ham United team after keeping them somewhat afloat to doing the same to Spurs in the early days of a tough 2026/27 Premier League season is highly impressive, and it is a sign of a maturity and a trust that Spurs can start placing in him as the season continues.
Fernandes is making a claim, through his play on the pitch, that he is going to be Tottenham's best and most important player this season, even above the likes of Sandro Tonali, Pedro Porro, and Micky van de Ven who have been more acclaimed. But Fernandes was wanted by folks as big as Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid at one point. Now, he is Tottenham's, and he is somehow exceeding expectations. De Zerbi has to take note.
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