With top-four rivals Aston Villa playing title-chasing Arsenal this weekend, the visit to the north-east provided Spurs with a chance to significantly boost their hopes of playing in Europe’s premier club competition next term.
However, the hosts came into this clash still in the hunt for a Europa Conference League spot, which could even turn into a Europa League place depending on who wins the FA Cup, while their last victory over Tottenham at St. James’ Park - a 6-1 triumph towards the end of last term - will have no doubt played on their guests’ minds in the build-up.
The opening stages were intense and frantic, clear-cut chances were few and far between - in fact, neither goalkeeper was called into action. Shortly after the half-hour mark, though, the Toon burst into life and were two to the good within 95 glorious seconds.
Firstly, Isak took advantage of a Micky van de Ven slip to slot past Martin Dubravka, before Anthony Gordon caused the Netherlands international all sorts of problems once more to find the bottom corner after Pedro Porro’s poor back pass.
Destiny Udogie needed to produce a huge tackle to deny Isak a second before the interval, but not long after the restart, the Swede doubled his tally for the afternoon.
This time, he ran onto a searching Bruno Guimaraes pass before keeping his composure once more to beat Dubravka in a one-on-one.
In an attempt to rejuvenate his struggling outfit, Ange Postecoglou hauled off captain Son-Heung Min midway through the second period, but that barely had an impact as Newcastle continued to dominate.
Only the post prevented Emil Krafth from finding the back of the net, so it fell to Fabian Schar to add the final gloss to the scoreline, powering a header home from Gordon’s corner.
The Magpies are now unbeaten in six home league fixtures and move up to sixth in the table, albeit having played a game more than Manchester United who they lead by one point.
Tottenham, meanwhile, missed the opportunity to put pressure on Villa and, while the UEFA coefficient table may earn the Premier League a fifth Champions League spot, last week's results suggest that is by no means a guarantee. As such, Postecoglou and his side must bounce back quickly if they wish to return to the top table.
Flaschscore Man of the Match: Alexander Isak (Newcastle)
