1-5 v Newcastle United - 15 May 2016 - Away

Tottenham Hotspur Badge

Spurs 1

Newcastle United

Newcastle United

5

  • Wijnaldum
    19'
    73' (PEN)
  • Mitrović
    39'
    67'
  • Aarons
    85'
  • Janmaat
    86'
Details
Match Number

7182

Opposition
Newcastle united

Newcastle United

Competition
Premier League

Premier League

Round / Leg

Last Match of the Season

Season

2015/16

Date

15th May 2016

Kick Off

15:00

Venue

St James' Park

Attendance

52,183

Referee

Anthony Taylor

League Position

3rd

Opposition League Position

18th

Opposition Form

WLDLLL

Weather at Kick Off

11.1° - Overcast

Facts & Milestones
  • 7146th overall match (3399 wins, 1578 draws, 2156 losses)

  • 5569th competitive match (2496 wins, 1310 draws, 1763 losses)

  • Last League Match of the Season (46 wins, 21 draws, 43 losses)

  • team

    157th match vs Newcastle United (66 wins, 32 draws, 59 losses)

  • competition

    924th Premier League match (374 wins, 239 draws, 311 losses)

  • 6538th match in England (3063 wins, 1473 draws, 1989 losses)

  • 76th match at St James' Park (24 wins, 19 draws, 33 losses)

  • 10th consecutive match with a goal scored

  • There was 1 change to the starting lineup from the last match.

Report

Ten-man Newcastle bid farewell to the Premier League with an extraordinary win over Tottenham, who finished third.

The display by the Magpies was scarcely believable. Georginio Wijnaldum fired in the opener and Aleksandar Mitrovic powerfully headed home for 2-0.

Erik Lamela reduced the deficit before Mitrovic was shown a straight red for a nasty foul on Kyle Walker.

Wijnaldum scored his second from the spot, and Rolando Aarons and Daryl Janmaat wrapped up the scoring.

That defeat for Spurs coupled with Arsenal's 4-0 win over Aston Villa meant that Mauricio Pochettino's men ended their season below their north London rivals. They have not finished above the Gunners since 1995.

This was not expected. Then again, this was a season when 5,000-1 outsiders came out on top.

Having had relegation confirmed earlier in the week, some thought that Newcastle would capitulate against a Spurs side targeting the runners-up spot and the achievement of getting one over Arsenal.

However, straight from kick-off the home side pressured their opponents in midfield with Cheick Tiote and Sissoko leading the way, and it was the visitors who lay down.

Wijnaldum, who had failed to find the net in the previous 16 league games, drove in his 10th of the season before his provider Mitrovic directed in the second.

Lamela revived Spurs' hopes with a strike that seemed to baffle keeper Karl Darlow at the near post and their hopes were boosted when red mist descended over Mitrovic, who was sent off for a studs-first challenge on England full-back Walker.

However, that seemed to motivate the Magpies and Sissoko. Soon after the incident the France midfielder drove into the Spurs area and was brought down by Jan Vertonghen.

Wijnaldum slotted in his second and Tottenham heads slumped. A fierce, angled drive from substitute Aarons made it 4-0, before Janmaat slotted in the fifth.

Not even a plane paid for by Sunderland fans to mock their relegated rivals could ruin what was a memorable day for the Magpies and their manager Rafael Benitez.

The home support chanted the Spaniard's name from the first whistle and after the last. He saluted those who backed him on the pitch with a big grin across his face. The question is, was that display enough to persuade him to lead the club in the Championship?

Earlier in the week he suggested the talks with the Newcastle chiefs were "positive" and after Sunday's win the ex-Real Madrid boss said: "My heart is telling me yes [to stay], it is a great opportunity, city and club but my brain is saying to analyse what is going on."

It seems he is waiting for Mike Ashley to make the next move. It could prove to be the owner's most important decision.

Perhaps, it is more what did not happen for Spurs.

They looked almost disinterested when they realised Newcastle wanted a battle. Any thoughts of cantering to the finish were dismissed in the first half by the goals of Wijnaldum and Mitrovic.

It seems like chasing Leicester took more out of the team than first thought. After the match, Pochettino apologised to the club's fans for the display and for missing out on second spot.

The small silver lining was that Harry Kane, who was chasing shadows at St James', won the golden boot with 25 goals. He is the first Englishman to do so since Kevin Phillips in 2000.

Timeline
KO

Georginio Wijnaldum

19'

Aleksandar Mitrović

39'
HT

Aleksandar Mitrović

67'

Georginio Wijnaldum

73'

Rolando Aarons

85'

Rolando Aarons

85'

Daryl Janmaat

86'
FT
Location
League Table
# Team PL W D L GF GA GD PTS
1
Leicester city
37 23 11 3 67 35 32 80
2
Tottenham Hotspur Badge Tottenham Hotspur
37 19 13 5 68 30 38 70
3
Arsenal
37 19 11 7 61 36 25 68
4
Manchester city
37 19 8 10 70 40 30 65
5
Manchester united
37 18 9 10 46 34 12 63
6
West ham united
37 16 14 7 64 49 15 62
7
Southampton
37 17 9 11 55 40 15 60
8
Liverpool
37 16 11 10 62 49 13 59
9
Chelsea
37 12 13 12 58 52 6 49
10
Stoke city
37 13 9 15 39 54 -15 48
11
Swansea city
37 12 10 15 41 51 -10 46
12
Everton
37 10 14 13 56 55 1 44
13
Watford
37 12 8 17 38 48 -10 44
14
Crystal palace
37 11 9 17 38 47 -9 42
15
West bromwich albion
37 10 12 15 33 47 -14 42
16
Afc bournemouth
37 11 9 17 44 64 -20 42
17
Sunderland
37 9 11 17 46 60 -14 38
18
Newcastle united
37 8 10 19 39 64 -25 34
19
Norwich city
37 9 7 21 39 64 -25 34
20
Aston villa
37 3 8 26 27 72 -45 17
# Team PL W D L GF GA GD PTS
1
Leicester city
38 23 12 3 68 36 32 81
2
Arsenal
38 20 11 7 65 36 29 71
3
Tottenham Hotspur Badge Tottenham Hotspur
38 19 13 6 69 35 34 70
4
Manchester city
38 19 9 10 71 41 30 66
5
Southampton
38 18 9 11 59 41 18 63
6
Manchester united
37 18 9 10 46 34 12 63
7
West ham united
38 16 14 8 65 51 14 62
8
Liverpool
38 16 12 10 63 50 13 60
9
Stoke city
38 14 9 15 41 55 -14 51
10
Chelsea
38 12 14 12 59 53 6 50
11
Everton
38 11 14 13 59 55 4 47
12
Swansea city
38 12 11 15 42 52 -10 47
13
Watford
38 12 9 17 40 50 -10 45
14
West bromwich albion
38 10 13 15 34 48 -14 43
15
Crystal palace
38 11 9 18 39 51 -12 42
16
Afc bournemouth
37 11 9 17 44 64 -20 42
17
Sunderland
38 9 12 17 48 62 -14 39
18
Newcastle united
38 9 10 19 44 65 -21 37
19
Norwich city
38 9 7 22 39 67 -28 34
20
Aston villa
38 3 8 27 27 76 -49 17
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