We round up the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United in our Scout Notes summary.
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SPURS HIT FIVE BUT NO GOALS FOR KANE
Harry Kane (£12.5m) put in an excellent attacking display against Newcastle on Sunday, but failed to find the net, ending the match with a solitary assist.
The England captain racked up five shots in total, but none were on target, with most of the big chances falling to team-mate Son Heung-min (£10.9m).
“When the game has finished, I went on to the pitch to my players and I said to Harry (Kane) I was disappointed in only one thing that he didn’t score because he played an amazing game. He’s a world class striker and he deserves the best. He’s a great worker and this is not normal. Normally the players that have talent don’t like to work hard because they have the talent. I didn’t have talent so I had to work hard. He was a big example for his team-mates. When you see him working in this way, for sure you have the desire to continue to work and work very hard. For this reason, I want to tell him thanks and I hope to give him satisfaction. I think now he’s enjoying playing this type of football. Now we need to continue together.” – Antonio Conte on Harry Kane
After a tricky first-half against a well-drilled Magpies outfit, Spurs responded in emphatic fashion with five different goalscorers: defensive trio Ben Davies (£4.4m), Matt Doherty (£4.8m) and Emerson Royal (£4.5m), plus Son and substitute Steven Bergwijn (£5.9m).
With Sergio Reguilon (£5.2m) injured, wing-back Doherty shifted over to the left-flank, where he produced his third double-digit haul in six matches via a goal, assist and maximum bonus.
“On Friday we lost Reguilon for an injury in his knee and we have found a solution to play with Matt (Doherty) on the left and Emerson (Royal) on the right. It means there is great work behind the tactical and physical aspect.” – Antonio Conte
“They came out and played well and caused us a bit of trouble in the first half. We didn’t really get going. At half-time we just said to stay calm and trust our game and the ability and that chances would come. The manager wants us to defend at the back post and be at the back post at the other end. I was fortunate enough to score and set one up and contribute to the win. Goal difference didn’t cross my mind at all really. It was just to get the game won. Four and five are the bonus really. All we can do is focus on what we are doing and the pressure goes on to other teams.” – Matt Doherty
For Son, he has now scored nine goals in his last nine top-flight home appearances. His overall tally of 11 home goals is the most of any player, while 115 points on home turf is another league-leading tally:
As a result of today’s victory, Tottenham have now won four of their past five league games.
Notably, they have also scored at least twice in each of their five most recent fixtures, while since Antonio Conte’s first game in charge, only Liverpool and Manchester City have earned more points in the Premier League than Spurs.
THREE DEFEATS IN A ROW FOR NEWCASTLE
Following Sunday’s heavy defeat, Newcastle have now lost three Premier League games in a row.
Prior to Gameweek 31, the Magpies hadn’t conceded more than once in any of their last 11 Premier League matches, letting in just eight goals in total.
However, despite finding themselves in front against the run of play, they suffered a heavy defeat, with Javier Manquillo (£3.9m) and Matt Targett (£4.7m) struggling to defend the wide areas.
Thankfully, they now have three consecutive home games to regroup, starting with Wolverhampton Wanderers in Friday’s Gameweek 32 opener.
“We contributed to that (score). We were 1-0 up, and executing a good plan. We were controlling them as best we could. We did the first part of the game well. The second goal is the key thing. It’s what we didn’t need to do. We chased the game in a way you can’t against this type of team. We took risks, and didn’t execute it well enough. Against these teams, you have to get every aspect of your game right. In the second half, we didn’t.
We’re still in a huge fight to stay in the division. That’s six away games in seven. Now we return home, and they’ll be massive games. After a second half like that you want to play again very quickly. I want to put the memory of this game away.” – Eddie Howe
Fabian Schar’s (£4.3m) free-kick goal proved scant consolation, but set-pieces are clearly an area Eddie Howe is working on. In fact, seven of Newcastle’s last 11 goals have come from dead-ball situations.
Speaking after the 5-1 defeat, Howe, also provided an injury update on Kieran Trippier (£4.9m).
“His injury is healing, it’s not totally healed. We will be able to start pushing him, maybe not as quickly as we initially wanted to, but I still think he’ll come back this season. Again, there’s no definitive date on that but he’s making good progress.” – Eddie Howe on Kieran Trippier
Tottenham Hotspur XI: Lloris, Romero, Dier, Davies, Royal (Bergwijn 81), Bentancur (Winks 75), Hojbjerg, Doherty, Kulusevski (Moura 76), Son, Kane
Newcastle United XI: Dubravka, Manquillo (Guimaraes 59), Schar, Burn, Targett, Shelvey, Willock, Joelinton (Murphy 59), Fraser, Saint-Maximin, Wood (Lascelles 70)
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