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Lloris embarrassed by Tottenham's capitulation at Newcastle

Tottenham could have moved level on points with Newcastle with a win but conceded five goals in the opening 21 minutes, eventually losing 6-1

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Newcastle United's Jacob Murphy scores the team's first goal past Tottenham Hotspur's Hugo Lloris. — Reuters

By Reuters

Published: Sun 23 Apr 2023, 9:14 PM

Tottenham Hotspur captain Hugo Lloris labelled his side's collapse at Newcastle United in the Premier League 'embarrassing' on Sunday as the North London club's top-four hopes suffered a huge blow.

Tottenham could have moved level on points with Newcastle with a win but conceded five goals in the opening 21 minutes, eventually losing 6-1 at St James' Park.

Jacob Murphy got the scoreboard ticking in the second minute after Lloris spilled a Joelinton shot and four minutes later Joelinton rounded Lloris to slot in his side's second goal.

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Murphy then belted in his second and Newcastle's third from long range and there was a sense of disbelief in the stadium as Alexander Isak produced two clinical finishes in the space of two minutes to make it 5-0.

Tottenham improved after the break, although it was hard not to, with Harry Kane slotting in a consolation goal four minutes into the second half but Callum Wilson scored Newcastle's sixth one minute after coming off the bench.

But many of the Tottenham fans who had made the long trip to Tyneside were seen leaving before halftime.

"It's very embarrassing. We should apologise to the fans. We didn't show a good face and we could not match the performance of the Newcastle players," Lloris, who was substituted at halftime, told Sky Sports.

"We were late in all aspects of the game and we completely missed the first part of the game. The second half is a different story but it's really painful.

"It is not even about tactics, we just could not fight and we were late. It is difficult right now to assess the performances but there was a lack of pride."

Tottenham remains in fifth place with 53 points from 32 games but it is six behind third-placed Newcastle, who has a game in hand, and also six behind fourth-placed Manchester United, who has two games in hand.

With teams below them such as Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion also having games in hand, the question is not so much about the Champions League now for Spurs, but whether they will even hang on to a European spot.

"You can get punched once or twice but it was like we could not even react or bounce back," Lloris said.

"Newcastle deserve a lot of credit for starting the game at 100 miles per hour. They knew exactly what to do."

Tottenham resemble a club in disarray, having fired Antonio Conte and replaced him with interim coach Cristian Stellini and, on Friday, losing director of football Fabio Paratici after his appeal against a two-and-a-half-year ban for false accounting was rejected by Italy's highest sports court.

They also face a fight to keep Harry Kane, their record scorer, at the club but Lloris said there were no excuses.

"We cannot hide ourselves behind the club's problems, we are professionals but today there was too much lacked," he said.

"There was a differences in level between Newcastle and Tottenham. We have two very difficult games to bounce back with."

Tottenham hosts Manchester United at home on Thursday and faces Liverpool away next Sunday.

Meanwhile, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe was delighted with the performance of his team on Sunday.

"It was an incredible start to the game," Howe told Sky Sports. "We elevated our performance in that opening half an hour. You don't expect that but the quality of our finishing was lethal today."

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Reuters

Published: Sun 23 Apr 2023, 9:14 PM

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