Alan Shearer delivers surprise Newcastle United verdict after Tottenham Hotspur victory

Newcastle United claimed three points. They further cemented their European-chasing credentials, beating another one of the Premier League ‘big six’ on the road. They made it five Premier League wins on the bounce, six in all competitions, and the win ensured they cannot drop out of the division’s top five this weekend. Alexander Isak became just the third player in black and white to net in seven Premier League games on the bounce, after the man himself in 1996 and Joe Willock in 2021.

So, putting all that into perspective, you’d have thought Shearer, on TNT duty for the day, would have been glowing in his praise of his beloved Magpies.

However, he used his airtime to throw credit the way of injury-ravaged Tottenham Hotspur, in the aftermath of their 2-1 loss to Eddie Howe & Co.

Shearer was keen to give credit to the manner in which Ange Postecoglou’s men handled themselves, especially given the remarkable injury list which has hit Spurs in recent weeks.

"I think you've got to give a bit of credit to Spurs for the way they came back into it with the injuries they had,” said Shearer.

“I expected Newcastle in the second half to overpower Spurs and get a couple more goals. They had to do a lot more defending than I thought they would have and did it really well."

Spurs were this week hit with a sickness bug, which meant star men Son Heung Min, James Maddison and Yves Bissouma were only fit enough for a spot on the bench. The bug also meant No.2 keeper Fraser Forster was unavailable for selection.

The bug hit with Postecoglou also managing an injury crisis akin to the Magpies’ of last season, with Wilson Odobert, Richarlison, Mikey Moore, Guglielmo Vicario, Ben Davies, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie all absent. Rodrigo Betancur was also suspended for the visit of United.