Richarlison and Destiny Udogie rightfully earn honour after Tottenham display v Newcastle United, Alan Shearer blown away
Tottenham finally put their horror run behind them with a convincing 4-1 victory against Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United.
Ange Postecoglou’s men went into the clash in North London without a win in their last five games, with that run involving one draw and four losses.
But the hosts ran riot at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday (10 December), capitalising on Newcastle’s busy schedule and lengthy injury list.
Richarlison was the standout with two goals from his central forward role, with fellow attacker Son Heung-Min and left-back Destiny Udogie also on the scoresheet.
The Tottenham captain impressed with a penalty and two assists, but it is Udogie and Richarlison who earned spots in Alan Shearer’s Premier League Team of the Week (11 December).
Speaking of the left-back, Shearer said: “Newcastle couldn’t cope with his movement and he capitalised with a deserved goal.”
And discussing the attacker after his brace, Shearer noted: “Too hot to handle for Newcastle, justifying his return to the centre-forward role with two good goals.”
The Brazilian has just four goals to his name in all competitions this season, but journalist Alex Keble noted how the centre-forward role helped the attacker score as many goals in one game as in his previous 39 matches.
It should now provide the Brazil ace with some much-needed relief in the final third, with Richarlison also netting his first Tottenham goals with his feet on his 48th appearance for the club [Sky Sports, 11 December].
A central role for Richarlison and a wide one for Son should be how Postecoglou will line up the duo in matches to come, with the former in the thick of the action with six shots and two fouls won, as the latter had four shots, made four key passes and also won two fouls [Sky Sports, 11 December].
Udogie meanwhile, along with his goal, made two key passes and registered a 91.1% passing accuracy [Sky Sports, 11 December].
His strike past Martin Dubravka saw him become just the second Italian to score a Premier League goal for Tottenham, after Nicola Berti [official Premier League website, 10 December].
The left-back paired with Son on the left-hand side to double up on Newcastle right-back Kieran Trippier, who struggled with just five out of 12 duels won [Sofascore].
Moreover, the England ace made two fouls, was dribbled past three times, and lost possession a match-high 20 times.
Tottenham now occupy fifth place in the Premier League table with 30 points, three behind Manchester City in fourth.
In other Tottenham news, Postecoglou has an ideal Harry Kane replacement under his nose, the player could save the club millions.