Spurs got their Premier League campaign off to a winning start with a 2-0 victory over Newcastle at St. James’ Park on Sunday afternoon. Goals from Dele Alli and Ben Davies were enough to see off the Magpies.
The first forty-five minutes were an uneventful affair with few chances for either side. Newcastle started the better but Spurs grew into the game, Christian Eriksen trying his luck from distance a couple of times but with little success.
The game changed early on in the second half when Andre Marriner sent off Newcastle captain Jonjo Shelvey for a stamp on Dele Alli. A stupid act right under the nose of the referee that saw him rightly sent for an early bath.
Spurs immediately looked to capitalise on their one man advantage and cashed in just after the hour mark. Christian Erisken floated a lovely ball over the top to Dele Alli, who made no mistake with a volleyed finish into the back of the net past Rob Elliot.
Just ten minutes later it was 2-0. A little bit of fortune involved perhaps, but Ben Davies reacted quickly to slide the ball past Elliot and to double Tottenham’s advantage, which they were able to hold onto right up until the final whistle.
Mauricio Pochettino faced a tough team selection at the start of the game. He appeared to be torn between playing a back three with Moussa Sissoko at wing-back or a back four with Kyle Walker-Peters at right-back. Both played in a 4-2-3-1 system and the youngster Walker-Peters impressed on his debut.
The full-back showed little signs of nerves, looked to pose a threat going forward and effectively dealt with the pace of Christian Atsu which even some of the best full-backs struggle to do when he is on the top of his game. His final ball could have been better and it is fair to say he doesn’t quite have the same pace as Kyle Walker or Kieran Trippier. His performance led to one Spurs fan claiming that there is now no need to sign a right-back this summer. Here is how Spurs fans reacted on Twitter.
Walker-Peters has been excellent, best player on the park. Who said he wasn’t ready? Spurs in control, but lack of pace is v obvious #COYS
— Ben Harris (@thisisbenharris) 13 August 2017
Getting in early here, round of applause for Poch over Kyle Walker Peters, hasn’t put a foot wrong today & looked so composed. #COYS#THFC
— Ricky Sacks ? (@RickSpur) 13 August 2017
Walker-Peters deserves MoM, for his defensive display against a very tricky confident winger like Atsu
— arunSpurs (@arunspurs) 13 August 2017
Walker-Peters was outstanding. Saw some of the best bits of Walker & Trippier in there, looking forward to watching him develop over time ??
— Boggo (@Boggo1) 13 August 2017
Very encouraging start to the season and brilliant to see Walker-Peters perform so well on his debut. ? #COYS #newtot
— Joe Alexander (@JoeAlexander1) 13 August 2017
In all seriousness though, no need to source a right back.
Kyle Walker-Peters with an incredibly composed performance#NEWTOT #COYS
— Dan Tracey (@dantracey1983) 13 August 2017
Once fit, Kieran Trippier I am sure will stay the first choice right-back, but Kyle Walker-Peters may have just eliminated the need to buy a new right-back with the performance that earned him the Man of the Match award.