Antonio Conte has admitted that it was 'not easy' to play against Newcastle United despite his Spurs side hammering the Magpies 5-1.
For all the possession and territory Spurs enjoyed in the opening half-hour, Martin Dubravka was largely untested before Newcastle landed a sucker punch in the 39th minute. Hugo Lloris will have felt he should have done better with Fabian Schar's free-kick, but the Spurs' goalkeeper was unable to keep the Switzerland international effort out as the visitors took a shock lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
However, Newcastle were not in front for long and Ben Davies equalised just four minutes later before Matt Doherty put Spurs ahead shortly after the break. There was plenty of time left in the game, but that second goal was the cue for Newcastle players to push forward in search of an equaliser as the visitors veered away from Howe's original game plan.
