Tottenham Hotspur 4–1 Newcastle United on 10 December 2023

Tottenham ended their recent slump in emphatic style as they convincingly overpowered a leg-weary Newcastle United.

Spurs had lost four of their previous five games and had not won since the victory at Crystal Palace on 27 October, but, once Destiny Udogie put them ahead from Son Heung-min's pass, there was only one winner.

And it was day of joy for striker Richarlison, who has struggled to find consistency and momentum in his Spurs career but was the spearhead here with a goal either side of half-time as Newcastle wilted in the face of some scintillating attacking play from Ange Postecoglou's side.

Richarlison had scored only five goals in his previous 48 appearances for Spurs but was on the mark from Son's perfect delivery, then effectively sealed all three points after controlling Pedro Porro's long pass.

Son got the goal his performance deserved, scoring from the spot after he had been hauled down by Newcastle keeper Martin Dubravka.

Joelinton's late strike provided a late consolation for Newcastle, who threatened only sporadically, with Miguel Almiron failing to convert a great chance when they trailed by a goal.

However, a heavy programme is taking its toll on manager Eddie Howe's injury-hit squad and now they must regroup and re-energise quickly before Wednesday night's decisive final Champions League group game at home to AC Milan.

Spurs have been stuttering recently after an outstanding start under Postecoglou, not helped by a succession of injuries, particularly to key new signings James Maddison and Micky van de Ven, but the battling draw at Manchester City demonstrated the new-found spirit and here the attacking quality was back.

Richarlison will rightly claim much of the acclaim for his two goals and the Spurs fans showed their delight for the Brazil striker, who is admired for his sheer effort despite a mixed career at the club so far. The goals that came with Richarlison's endeavour were a deserved reward.

He will have his confidence lifted by two goals but, as so often, Son was at the heart of most of Spurs' good work, creating the first two goals, making it another miserable experience for Kieran Trippier after his nightmare in the 3-0 defeat at Everton on Thursday, then scoring a penalty for the fourth.

As they have done so far this season, Spurs supporters revelled in the all-out attacking approach under Postecoglou which could have yielded more goals, but this was a result and performance designed to blow away the cobwebs of three successive home defeats.

The Spurs fans seem more than happy to accept there may be bumps in the road playing in this fashion while warmly embracing Postecoglou's positive intent.

The manner in which Spurs were able to over-run Newcastle as they capitulated posted warning signs for Howe.

This is not to suggest for one moment there was a lack of effort from Newcastle's players, but they looked, as they did as Everton swept past them, like a team running on fumes, playing too many games with too few players.

Howe has barely been able to change his side in recent weeks as he tries to handle a lengthy injury list, which has forced him to name the same 10 outfield players for five games in a row, hampering any ability to rotate his squad and refresh a hard-pressed squad.

At least the sight of Callum Wilson and Sean Longstaff returning off the bench provided some hope and relief before the Milan game.

The passionate Toon Army will fuel the effort to get the victory they need to keep hopes of reaching the knockout phase alive.

Newcastle started each half briskly but, significantly, the levels swiftly dropped. The backing of the home fans is never in doubt, but they will be needed more than ever in midweek.