Twenty-one minutes to seal abject ignominy for Tottenham Hotspur, 21 minutes to signal the failure of their season. Twenty-one minutes to bring jubilation for Newcastle United, 21 minutes to propel their charge towards a Champions League place that Spurs had designs on.
A startling start brought Newcastle’s best day under Eddie Howe, their finest for many a year. A surreal scoreline in the first quarter – with Newcastle five goals ahead – meant that, in a season laced with low points for Tottenham – Leicester, Sheffield United, AC Milan, Bournemouth, many of Antonio Conte’s press conferences – this was a new nadir.
