Giving Tottenham fans what they asked for after switching to a back four and putting an extra man in midfield against Newcastle United, it took Cristian Stellini all of 20 minutes to revert to the preferred three-man defence. The Italian's bold decision in terms of his team, which saw attacking wing-backs Pedro Porro and Ivan Perisic operating as full-backs, completely backfired as they shipped five goals in a remarkable start to proceedings on Tyneside.
Needing to remain strong at the back in the opening exchanges at St James' Park, Spurs conceded the opener with barely a minute on the clock as Jacob Murphy tapped home from close range. It was an onslaught after that as the hosts attacked at every opportunity and looked destined to score whenever they were within sight of goal.
Certainly helped by some shambolic play, with every Newcastle goal shocking to concede from a Tottenham perspective due to some incredibly suspect and half-heated defending, the game was completely over as a contest nine minutes in as the hosts raced into a three-goal lead. It was to get even worse with Alexander Isak netting a quickfire double ten minutes later.
