Tottenham 4-1 Newcastle: Son shines with a goal and two assists while Richarlison is back among the goals as Spurs end five-match winless run for Ange Postecoglou

It is the way of English football that when a man like Ange Postecoglou comes along and dares to do things a little differently, there are those who lust for his downfall. 

They had scented his blood as darkness fell over north London yesterday and Postecoglou’s Spurs side faced the prospect of losing for the fifth time in six matches.

If Spurs had been beaten by Newcastle and the freefall had continued, there would have been talk of a crisis, more suggestions that Postecoglou’s brand of attacking football was just too naïve for the Premier League and that he had been found out. English football is a cosmopolitan place but it struggles with outsiders who break the mould.

But the glee about the defrocking of the new boy did not last. Spurs did not lose their fifth in six. They won and they won at a canter. They beat a ragged, dispirited, depleted Newcastle side with ease and with a style that said Angeball was back and that, actually, it had never really been away.

This was a hugely restorative evening for everyone involved with Spurs, who stayed in fifth place with this emphatic victory. Richarlison scored twice but it was a win inspired by the consistently brilliant Heung-Min Son, who set up two goals and scored another from the penalty spot himself.

It felt apt that Son should be Postecoglou’s saviour. When Harry Kane left in the summer, Son became the leader of this side and its marquee player. When they needed him most, even though he had left the previous game against West Ham in agony from a back injury, Son stepped up.

And so, after a ten-game unbeaten start to the season and three manager of the month awards for Postecoglou and then a fall precipitated by an apocalyptic home defeat to Chelsea, Tottenham are back on track.

The 4-1 scoreline did not flatter Spurs. If anything, it flattered Newcastle, who go into Wednesday night’s critical Champions League tie against AC Milan at St James’s Park repeating a narrative that their players are running on empty and that their resources are stretched beyond breaking point.

Newcastle started the same ten outfield players for the fifth game in 15 days and if Eddie Howe deserves some sympathy because of the length of his injured list, he will also understand that that sympathy will necessarily be limited by the fact that Newcastle are now the richest club in the world.

The team they fielded in north London was worth in the region of a quarter of a billion pounds. Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak alone made up a strike force valued at close to £100m. In the circumstances, fielding two goalkeepers among the substitutes felt like a performative act that denied a promising young player a place on the bench.

Newcastle are not underdogs any more. They are part of a big-spending elite, which requires a change of mindset they have not made yet. Complaining about injuries is a legitimate gripe if you are Luton Town. If you are owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, it is not.

Howe’s side should have taken the lead inside ten minutes. Joelinton played a beautiful volleyed pass over the top of the Spurs defence into space for Gordon to run on to. Gordon drilled his cross to the back post where it seemed either Ben Davies would have to turn it into his own net or Isak would have a tap-in.

Instead, Davies slid at full stretch to get a slight touch on the ball and it was enough to put off Isak, who could only sidefoot it into touch from point blank range. The Sweden striker put his hands on his head. Most Newcastle fans did, too.

Spurs hit back. Miguel Almiron hooked a header from Cristian Romero off the line, a brilliant cross from Son just evaded the flying Richarlison at the near post and Brennan Johnson fizzed a ball into the area that was just too far ahead of the Brazil striker. It felt as if a home goal was coming.

It came, inevitably, from the quite brilliant Son. There were 20 minutes to half time when Destiny Udogie played the ball out wide to the South Korea forward and he squared up Kieran Trippier, danced past him and lashed a low cross into the box. Udogie had continued his run and turned it home from close range.

Spurs, who were no doubt haunted by the knowledge they have surrendered one goal leads in each of their past five winless games, should have been two up two minutes later. Johnson crossed to the back post where Pape Sarr, Richarlison and Son were all queuing up for the final touch. Sarr got to it first and dragged it wide. Cue more hands on heads.

It was end to end now. Gordon fed Almiron who should have scored but hit his shot too close to Guglielmo Vicario. Newcastle soon regretted their profligacy when they were, once more, tortured by Son.

Once again, it was poor Trippier who was the fall guy. The England full back, who had a torrid evening against Everton in midweek, could only half clear a long pass and it fell at the feet of Son. Son ran at Trippier again and squeezed past him again. He pulled the ball back for Richarlison, who diverted it into the net. It was Richarlison’s sixth goal for Spurs and the first he has scored with anything other than his head.

Richarlison scored again after an hour. Pedro Porro floated a wonderful ball over Jamaal Lascelles and Richarlison let it run across him before sliding it through the legs of Martin Dubravka and into the Newcastle net.

The game was effectively over now and Spurs started playing with even more freedom. Johnson hit the inside of the post with a rising drive and Son volleyed a shot across goal and just wide of Dubravka’s left-hand post. It was in danger of turning into a rout.

It duly became a rout five minutes from the end when Son went round Dubravka and was brought down. The referee awarded a penalty and Son dispatched it low to the goalkeeper’s right. Joelinton grabbed a consolation goal for Newcastle in added time but Spurs were back and back in style.