Top News

Tottenham started the night by presenting £300m worth of new signings before kick-off, a procession of talent featuring three title winners, almost like the most lavish eight-a-side side assembled inside the Premier League’s most lavish stadium. Yet by full-time, they looked much as they had at the end of last season: like a side that may need to scrap hard just to stay clear of the drop.

This was at least a slight improvement on last weekend’s disastrous 3-0 defeat at Brentford. Tottenham had spells of controlled possession and, for much of the first hour, fashioned better openings than Newcastle. They worked promising situations for wingers Mathys Tel and Pedro Porro. But, worryingly, given Roberto De Zerbi handed a debut to new striker Omar Marmoush, Spurs were blunt and harmless in attack, missing any real cutting edge, like a boxer trying to land blows with a giant foam hand.

Newcastle also carried out some summer renovation, and Matthias Jaissle handed his own Manchester City recruit, Nico Gonzalez, a debut at the base of midfield. Clearly, Pep Guardiola’s imprint on the Premier League will endure well beyond his exit, and by the end of this breathless contest it was Gonzalez, rather than Marmoush, who had made the telling contribution.

On the hour mark, the Spaniard produced a magnificent diagonal ball that picked out the run of right-back Amar Dedic, another eye-catching new arrival, and his header found Anthony Elanga, who turned smartly and fired in Newcastle’s opening goal. A few minutes later, Yoane Wissa cleverly flicked home their second from a corner, and Newcastle held firm to complete a 2-0 victory.

Gonzalez closes down former Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali (Reuters)

This always felt likely to become a chaotic encounter. Rain earlier in the day had left the surface slick. Both teams selected direct wide players, quick forwards and technically gifted midfielders. On the touchline, the two managers prowled their technical areas, with Jaissle upright and imposing like a Grand National horse, while De Zerbi darted around beside him like a chipmunk in a state of panic.

At first glance, this did not seem an obvious match for two players shaped by Guardiola’s school of football. Gonzalez’s first notable act in a Newcastle shirt was to collect a yellow card after crashing through Archie Gray. Marmoush’s first effort for Spurs came as a free volley at the back post from Andy Robertson’s deep corner, but he badly mishit it and sent it well wide.

Gonzalez, though, soon began to impose himself on the ball, dropping between his centre-backs to launch moves and knitting Newcastle’s play together. With a slight squint, it might have looked like Rodri orchestrating things from deep. Marmoush also became more involved for Spurs, and his speed on the break caused issues. Early in the second half he had a strong claim for a penalty after a challenge from Sven Botman, but Peter Bankes waved away Tottenham’s appeals.

Still, it was Gonzalez who ultimately shaped the game. There is no doubt the previous 18 months had been frustrating after he joined City in a £50m move during the final hour of last year’s January transfer window. Then again, what had he really expected? Gonzalez occupied only a fringe role in a side built around Rodri. He was not involved at the World Cup and is still waiting for his first senior cap for Spain.

Yet the move to the north could be exactly what unlocks him, because he looked entirely at ease in Newcastle’s midfield alongside Lewis Miley and Joe Willock. Gonzalez has that rare knack of making football appear absurdly simple, forever seeming to receive the ball without an opponent within 10 yards, with the time to lift his head and choose a pass. But just as elite scorers are not always the purest finishers, instead being the ones who repeatedly arrive in the right places, Gonzalez’s real gift is not simply his passing range but his instinct for space, his ability to create time and locate calm in the middle of the storm.

Nico Gonzalez applauds the travelling supporters after the final whistle (PA)

So when he took a harmless pass inside his own half midway through the second period, Gonzalez had a couple of seconds available to him and used them perfectly. He shifted the ball out of his feet, briefly met Dedic’s eye, and then drilled a high diagonal over Tottenham left-back Robertson to ignite the move that led to Newcastle’s first goal.

The natural concern around Newcastle this summer was not only Eddie Howe’s departure, but also the fear that their midfield lacked depth and had been stripped of quality. Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali left an enormous void, and the latter was booed throughout by the travelling Newcastle fans, who showed remarkable concentration and dedication to the cause by jeering every small involvement, right up to and including the Italian’s second-half substitution.

But based on this evidence, Newcastle may be in a stronger position than many assumed. They might possess the best full-backs in the league, with both Dedic and Lewis Hall outstanding. They have attacking alternatives too, with Nick Woltemade coming off the bench to create Wissa’s goal, along with frightening pace out wide. Their new goalkeeper, Lukas Hornicek, produced a couple of important saves. Then there is Jaissle, who gives off an air of confidence, answering media questions with a faint smirk as though he is aware of something the rest of us are not.

And perhaps the central piece keeping the whole machine running will be Gonzalez. Newcastle have certainly restored some of the calm and control they lost earlier in the transfer window, and have done so while making a healthy profit. They have not torn through the market in the way Tottenham did, as the pre-match presentation underlined. But Newcastle’s summer recruitment may yet turn out to be the more effective of the two.