Newcastle United secured their first Premier League win of the season with a 2-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur, as Sandro Tonali was subjected to jeers and mocking chants from both sets of fans. The Magpies outclassed the London side in the capital, with home fans heading for the exits long before the final whistle.
Gonzalez Shines on Debut
Tonali, who faced his old club for the first time, was bombarded with boos and chants of 'one greedy b------' and 'you should have stayed at a big club'. It was Nico Gonzalez, the man who had essentially replaced him, who received the love of the Toon Army, with fans chanting his name on an excellent debut for the Spain Under-21 international.
Gonzalez's first few touches as a Newcastle player almost resulted in an opening goal as he played a 50-yard pass down the right to find Amar Dedic before Anthony Elanga's effort was deflected away for a corner in the opening minute. It was a move that would pay off later on.
First Half Chances
Moments later, Micky van de Ven was cautioned after a rash challenge on Yoane Wissa down the right, but the DR Congo man could not get on the end of Lewis Hall's free-kick in what was a bright start for the visitors. With nine minutes on the clock, Dedic crossed for Wissa from the right before the ball was played into Harvey Barnes' path but he fired over the bar.
There were loud jeers for Tonali as he faced his old club for the first time, and further delight as Joe Willock ploughed through him with a tasty challenge on 11 minutes. Referee Peter Bankes kept his card in his pocket for the Willock incident but then cautioned Gonzalez for a foul on Archie Gray much to the disbelief of the away fans.
Tottenham's first chance of the night arrived in the 11th minute when Mathys Tel curled an effort at goal from the left, but Lukas Hornicek made a fine save to push it away to safety. Spurs had a couple of sights of goal before the mid-way point, with Pedro Porro firing an effort just over as Spurs attempted to score their first Premier League strike of the season.
Second Half Breakthrough
The home side began to crank up the pressure, and on 33 minutes Omar Marmoush - who has tormented the Magpies before in Man City colours - should have done better when missing a sitter at the back post. Four minutes later, Hornicek made a fine stop to deny Jan Paul van Hecke from a corner as Newcastle survived once again. The two teams went level at half-time, but Newcastle had failed to register a shot on target in the opening 45 minutes.
Another scare at the start of the second half followed when Malick Thiaw's challenge on Marmoush had the ex-City star rolling around but the VAR team weren't interested in Tottenham's desperate spot-kick appeals. The Magpies responded on 50 minutes yet when Barnes knocked the ball into Hall's path he blazed it high and wide of the target. As the game edged to the 55th minute mark, Newcastle's desperation was evident when Sven Botman attempted an effort from 25 yards out, but the Dutchman's shot was deflected for a corner.
Newcastle edged past the hour mark without registering a shot on target, and just when Jaissle was toying with the idea of changes, debutant Gonzalez lifted a fine 40-yard pass to pick out Dedic who popped up with another assist. The ex-Benfica man nodded into Elanga's path - as he had done in the opening seconds of the game - but this time the winger managed to twist and turn into the box and fire off the post before the ball trickled past Antonin Kinsky for 1-0.
Comfortable Victory
The left-footed shot, his second in as many Premier League games, sent the 3,083 Newcastle fans into raptures behind the goal. And travelling fans erupted into a chant of 'Sandro, Sandro what's the score?' Jaissle made two changes with 18 minutes to go with Nick Woltemade and Sean Steur coming on for Gonzalez and Willock, but it took just a minute for one of them to make an impact.
Spurs fans were heading to the exits as Wissa doubled the lead to put Jaissle in touching distance of his first Premier League victory. Hall's corner to the far post was flicked down by Woltemade before Wissa's acrobatic kick beat Kinsky. Spurs offered some late pressure but Mathys Tel's comical free-kick summed up their failure to score as Newcastle picked up a big win on the road. It could have been more but in the end it was comfortably enough to beat Tonali - subbed late in the game to more mocking - and the rest of his teammates.
