Newcastle come from behind to win 2-1 at Spurs for a sixth straight win in all competitions; Dominic Solanke gave Spurs a fourth-minute lead before Anthony Gordon controversially equalised despite a Joelinton handball in the build-up; Alexander Isak scored a 38th-minute winner
A controversial Anthony Gordon equalizer followed by Alexander Isak’s winner saw Newcastle come from a goal down to beat Tottenham 2-1 for a sixth consecutive victory in all competitions to move level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea.
After Dominic Solanke’s fourth-minute opener, Spurs were left fuming with Gordon’s sixth-minute leveller after the ball hit Joelinton’s hand in the build-up but VAR allowed the goal to stand because “his arm was by his side, in a natural position and the contact was accidental”.
Ex-Premier League referee Mike Dean agreed with the decision on Soccer Saturday as Joelinton’s alleged handball “did not lead directly to a goal” after the deflection fell to Bruno Guimaraes before Gordon expertly finished past Spurs debutant Brandon Austin.
Why did Gordon’s equalizer goal stand?
The FA laws stipulate that Newcastle’s equalizer would have been ruled out if Joelinton had scored immediately after the ball touched his hand – even though the contact has been deemed accidental.
But because it was Gordon that scored after a pass from Guimaraes following the ball striking Joelinton’s arm, which was deemed to be in a natural position, the goal was given.
Ex-Premier League referee Mike Dean insists Newcastle’s equaliser at Tottenham was correctly allowed to stand after an alleged handball from Joelinton
It meant Eddie Howe’s fifth-placed side piled more misery on injury-ravaged Tottenham – who finished the game without a recognised centre-back – to leave Ange Postecoglou’s side winless in their last six Premier League home games and in the bottom half of the table in 11th leaving them closer to the relegation zone than the top four.
New England head coach Thomas Tuchel, attending his first match as Three Lions boss, would have been delighted to see two English players score the first two goals in north London as Solanke headed Spurs into a fourth-minute lead.
But just 140 seconds later Gordon controversially equalised despite a lengthy VAR check for Joelinton’s alleged handball.
A furious Postecoglou then saw his side lose their momentum as Newcastle turned up the pressure which eventually told in the 38th minute as Alexander Isak maintained his red-hot form with a scrappy close-range finish to score for a seventh consecutive Premier League game.
Postecoglou’s injury issues then worsened as full-back Djed Spence moved to centre-back for the second half after Radu Dragusin was substituted at half-time taking the Spurs absentee list into double figures.
Despite a patched-up defence, Spurs did push for a second-half equaliser as Brennan Johnson hit the post while substitutes James Maddison and Sergio Reguilon both put efforts wide.
But Newcastle held on for a perfect start to 2025 to heap more pressure on Postecoglou as both sides now look ahead to Carabao Cup semi-final first legs, with Newcastle going to Arsenal on Tuesday and Tottenham hosting Liverpool on Wednesday.
