Tottenham's Struggles Continue as Newcastle Shine in 2-0 Victory

Tottenham’s expensive reboot is already under scrutiny. Two games, two defeats, no goals – and this time a restless home crowd watched Newcastle walk away with a 2-0 win and their first Premier League victory under Matthias Jaissle.

At the heart of it were two players who looked lost last season. Now they look liberated.

Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa, a £110m double gamble under Eddie Howe, are suddenly thriving under Jaissle. Elanga struck first, Wissa finished it. Tottenham, for all their £320m summer outlay and flashes of promise, were left with boos ringing around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Spurs spend big, but cutting edge is missing

Roberto De Zerbi has been backed heavily. Eight new signings, £320m spent, and a new forward in Omar Marmoush thrown straight into the starting XI for the first home league game. The response from the stands at full-time told its own story.

Spurs actually started well. They moved the ball quickly, pinned Newcastle back, and carved out the better chances before the break.

On 15 minutes, Mathys Tel cut inside and whipped a curling effort towards the top corner. Lucas Hornicek, making a statement in goal for Newcastle, flung himself high to his left and clawed it away. Two minutes later, Pedro Porro looked certain to score from close range, only for Lewis Hall to hurl himself in front of the shot and block what felt like a guaranteed opener.

Tottenham kept coming. From a Fernandes corner on 38 minutes, Jan Paul van Hecke rose well and powered a header on target, but again Hornicek reacted sharply to keep it out. De Zerbi’s side had territory, shots, and a rhythm Newcastle struggled to match.

What they didn’t have was a goal.

A big call in the box

Early in the second half, Spurs thought they had their moment.

Marmoush got to the ball ahead of Malick Thiaw inside the area and was clearly caught by the centre-back. The home fans roared for a penalty. Referee Peter Bankes waved play on. VAR stayed quiet. The appeals turned into anger, the anger into a low rumble of frustration.

That decision felt pivotal. Tottenham never regained the same conviction in the final third.

De Zerbi would later insist they were “unlucky, especially with the result”, and on the balance of early chances he had a case. But football rarely cares for shot counts when the scoreboard tells a different story.

Elanga strikes, the mood turns

The pressure finally told – but at the other end.

On 62 minutes, Nico Gonzalez, handed his Newcastle debut, looked up and swept a long diagonal ball forward. Right-back Amar Dedic met it and nodded down into the box, where Elanga had drifted into space.

The winger, who had already hinted at a revival with a goal against Liverpool last weekend, controlled, swivelled and hit a shot on the turn. It kissed the inside of the left post and bounced in. Hornicek’s earlier work now had a reward. Newcastle led, and the stadium’s energy flipped.

De Zerbi threw on three substitutes in response, chasing a spark, a break, anything. It never came. Spurs’ structure frayed, their distances went, just as their manager later admitted.

“We are not a team yet,” De Zerbi said. “We had more chances and shot more on goal. Forget the result, but I’m not angry. We are working well.”

The crowd did not sound in the mood to forget.

Wissa finishes the job

If Elanga’s goal punctured Spurs, Wissa’s finished them.

On 72 minutes, Newcastle won a corner. Substitute Nick Woltemade rose to meet it and headed the ball back into the six-yard box. Wissa, back to goal, reacted first. One instinctive hook over his head, the ball looping beyond the keeper and into the net. 2-0. Clinical. Simple.

This was the same Wissa who never truly convinced under Howe. Now he looks like a forward playing with clarity and confidence, part of a front line that suddenly makes sense.

By the time Bankes blew for full-time, many home fans had already gone. Those who stayed made their feelings clear, jeering De Zerbi’s players off for the second week running after that 3-0 hammering at Brentford.

Jaissle’s new Newcastle take shape

While Tottenham wrestle with their identity, Newcastle appear to have found one quickly under Jaissle.

“It was incredible and I'm really proud,” the German said. “We are really proud as a club, as a coaching staff to see a team on the pitch delivering the match plan at a high level already, but also seeing players fully committed to what we're doing. This is a good start and a moment to enjoy.”

Enjoy it they did. Their away end was in full voice at the final whistle, taunting former favourite Sandro Tonali, who left Tyneside in a £100m move and endured a difficult afternoon. He was targeted by chants from the travelling support as they celebrated a first league win of the season.

For all the talk before kick-off of a difficult campaign ahead, of a squad not properly refreshed, Jaissle’s Newcastle looked organised, aggressive and dangerous when it mattered. Gonzalez slotted in smartly. Elanga and Wissa looked transformed.

Jamie Carragher summed it up from the gantry: “In Elanga and Wissa, it's like two new players!” The line might have been light-hearted, but the impact is serious. Newcastle suddenly have two big-money signings playing like they belong at the top end of the division.

Spurs searching for leaders

Jamie Redknapp, watching Spurs unravel, saw a different story.

He pointed to the number of new arrivals and the puzzle De Zerbi faces: systems to settle on, midfield combinations to pick, hierarchies to form. Teething problems, yes, but also a lack of authority on the pitch.

“I also look at the senior players and players like Van de Ven didn't do enough to lead today and certainly with the goals,” Redknapp said. “Players who have been there for a long time can do better.”

De Zerbi echoed the sense that this is a side under construction. “We are not a team yet,” he repeated. The football, at times, suggests a blueprint is there. The results – two defeats, no goals, a fanbase already restless – tell a harsher truth.

Newcastle, buoyed by their first win and the sudden rise of Elanga and Wissa, left north London singing about Europe, perhaps with tongues in cheeks, but with a new conviction in their step.

Tottenham left with questions. With £320m already spent and the season barely started, how long will patience last while De Zerbi tries to turn this expensively assembled squad into the team he insists it can be?