Hugo Lloris suffered a first-half injury as he was given reason to leave Tottenham ’s humiliation on Tyneside.
The Frenchman started in goal as Spurs headed to Newcastle looking to reignite their bid for a top-four finish. But his main role in a haunting first half was to pick the ball out the back of his net after the hosts scored FIVE times in just 21 minutes.
Lloris was called into action after less than two minutes, but after padding out Joelinton ’s shot, Jacob Murphy was on hand to open the scoring. And it quickly became two when Joelinton scored himself, with a shell shocked Tottenham unable to recover.
It was three before the 10-minute mark when Murphy completed his brace with a dipping shot from distance which left Lloris stranded in the middle of his goal. Alexander Isak then got on the act, scoring twice himself to make it 5-0 after just 21 chastening minutes of play.
It remained that score until the half-time whistle with Eddie Howe’s side happy to drop a gear or two after wrapping up the points in double quick time. Lloris then trudged off the field in the torrential rain but didn’t appear at the start of the second half.
Instead, it was Fraser Forster in the yellow goalkeeper jersey with theories quickly emerging as to why the first-choice stopper hadn’t returned. Forster had impressed during Lloris’ enforced absence earlier this season and there had been a push for him to stay in the starting XI.
However, rather than the status quo being shaken up by Cristian Stellini, Sky Sports confirmed that Lloris had picked up an undisclosed injury, forcing him out of the game.
The second 45 did get off to a slightly more positive start for the visitors, with Harry Kane netting an impressive solo goal. But even those largely ironic cheers were muted once Callum Wilson re-established the five-goal buffer 68 seconds after coming on.
Ex-Tottenham and Newcastle forward Chris Waddle urged the current crop of underperforming stars to reimburse the army of away fans, who had travelled hundreds of miles to watch their side get embarrassed.
“Newcastle have done their job and played with pride but you have to question Tottenham’s pride in the shirt,” he said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “These Tottenham players should reimburse the travelling fans because this is literally one of the worst performances I’ve ever seen. They consider themselves as a top four club. It is embarrassing.
He added: “Newcastle work hard, they move the ball and want to get on the front foot. These players are proud to wear the shirt and they want to get the fans behind them. You have to question whether the Tottenham players are as committed.
“The body language of Tottenham is poor. The players don’t look like they want to be out there and that was from the first minute, not just after the goals started coming.”
The result helps strengthen Newcastle’s grip on a top-four place and will end the weekend six points ahead of Tottenham having played a game fewer.
