Cristian Romero produced a dramatic late overhead kick to snatch a 2-2 draw for Tottenham at Newcastle, a result that eased some pressure on Spurs boss Thomas Frank after his side twice fell behind. Anthony Gordon’s controversial 86th-minute penalty looked to have handed Newcastle victory, but Romero — who had levelled seven minutes earlier — turned up again in the fifth minute of added time to salvage a point. His improvised overhead effort, Tottenham’s second shot on target, flew through a packed box and past Aaron Ramsdale.
Newcastle dominated large spells early on and took the lead shortly after Bruno Guimaraes was introduced from the bench. In the 71st minute Gordon’s cross fell to Bruno, who finished superbly into the bottom corner. Spurs responded after a triple substitution that brought on Mathys Tel, Richarlison and Xavi Simons; seven minutes after Newcastle’s opener, Kudus’ cross was headed in by a diving Romero to level the game.
Late drama arrived when VAR awarded Newcastle a penalty after Rodrigo Bentancur tangled with Dan Burn from a corner. Gordon converted from the spot to restore Newcastle’s lead, but Tottenham’s stoppage-time corner led to Ramsdale’s punch and Romero’s acrobatic finish, denying the hosts victory.
The draw leaves both teams in the lower half of the Premier League. Newcastle have now dropped more points from winning positions than any other side this season (11, level with Brentford), while Tottenham remain without a league win in five matches.
Thomas Frank on the match: ‘The performance showed fantastic mentality and character. Every team needs that. It is fair to say it has been a tough week, fourth game in 10 days, third away game. St James’ Park is always a difficult place to come. Last 60 minutes I am very happy with that performance overall. The ability to react to setbacks was great. We suffered the first 25 minutes. Sometimes you need to suffer, after that we were very brave, calm on the ball going forward. There’s a lot to love about the performance.’
Cristian Romero after the game: ‘It’s very important. In the last three or four games, the team knows it’s not been good enough. Today, the mentality to play like this altogether it’s a difficult time, but especially in this game, I love the mentality. I train every day with Leo Messi in the national team and I watch him. It’s a beautiful goal.’
Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp praised Spurs’ character and Romero’s leadership: ‘Spurs showed tremendous character because it hasn’t been going their way. They weren’t perfect by any stretch but they had a captain and a leader who grabbed that game by the scruff of the neck. Two great goals, certainly the first one was a world-class diving header, the second one a shinaldo! It was exactly what Spurs needed. They got back into the game and showed real character.’
Thomas Frank criticised the penalty decision: ‘It was an absolute mistake from the VAR. The ref did good to do the ref call and they encourage the refereeing call on the pitch. For me that is never a penalty, there are ten of those a game.’
Eddie Howe on the result and the late equaliser: ‘I don’t think it was us at our best today but we battled into a position we wanted with a few minutes left and we just couldn’t defend that corner at the end. We are disappointed with the first goal, it was a standard cross and we haven’t defended it well enough. Second one, we didn’t deal with the first contact then didn’t stop the overhead kick. Somehow it went in. It’s a painful one for us to take. A disappointing feeling having worked so hard. Bruno’s goal was an outstanding finish. He made a difference, his energy and enthusiasm and passion always stand out for us. He made a big difference. On the penalty award: ‘The big thing is the defender doesn’t look at the ball at all, he’s just looking at Dan. It’s probably the right call.”
Player ratings
– Newcastle: Ramsdale 6, Livramento 7, Thiaw 7, Burn 6, Hall 7, Joelinton 7, Tonali 6, Miley 7, Murphy 6, Woltemade 7, Barnes 7. Subs: Bruno Guimaraes 8, Gordon 7, Elanga 6, Schar n/a.
– Tottenham: Vicario 7, Porro 6, Danso 7, Romero 8, Udogie 7, Sarr 6, Bentancur 6, Bergvall 8, Johnson 6, Kolo Muani 6, Kudus 7. Subs: Simons n/a, Richarlison n/a, Tel n/a, Gray n/a, Odobert n/a.
Player of the Match: Cristian Romero.
What’s next
– Newcastle fixtures
– Tottenham fixtures
– Premier League fixtures