This archive report was first published on 26 August 2019.
On a day when Tottenham Hotspur's home form was put to the test, the team's manager Mauricio Pochettino had no excuses for their 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, August 25, 2019.
Joelinton's first goal for Newcastle gave Steve Bruce's men a first-half lead, which they successfully defended to earn their first points of the season.
"It's easy to analyse, we didn't play well. I'm very disappointed about our performance and our result," Pochettino said.
Spurs were denied a late penalty when Harry Kane was felled by Jamaal Lascelles inside the area, but VAR did not overturn Mike Dean's initial decision to wave play on.
Despite suffering a terrible start to the season with defeats by Arsenal and Norwich, Newcastle's disciplined and dogged performance frustrated a Spurs side lacking in invention without Christian Eriksen, who was left on the bench.
"All week we've worked on the system. Tactically to go and nail it the way we did on one of the big platforms in Europe now is outstanding," said Bruce.
With Eriksen's contract set to expire at the end of the season, Tottenham will have to sell him before the transfer window closes on September 2 or risk losing him for free next summer.
