Alexander Isak smashed his way through the 20-goal barrier as Newcastle boosted their European hopes by denting those of Tottenham.
The Magpies’ £63million record signing produced two sumptuous finishes either side of Anthony Gordon’s strike to take his tally for the campaign to 21 before Fabian Schar’s thunderous late header secured a 4-0 win at St James’ Park.
It was their third victory in four Premier League outings and ended fourth-placed Spurs’ three-match unbeaten run, and while it might not have been as spectacular as last season’s 6-1 rout in the corresponding fixture, it was equally emphatic.
Head coach Eddie Howe once again set up his team to suck in the visitors and then hit them on the break, and the plan worked to perfection on an day defender Micky van de Ven in particular will want to forget quickly.
With both sets of players wearing black armbands in memory of former Newcastle boss and Tottenham defender Joe Kinnear, who died last weekend, Gordon caused early problems and Elliot Anderson had a third-minute header blocked at source as Spurs found themselves under pressure.
However, they soon settled and turned the Magpies with seven minutes gone when Rodrigo Bentancur put Brennan Johnson in behind Dan Burn, although Timo Werner was unable to adjust quickly enough to volley his cross towards goal.
The visitors looked menacing and Magpies keeper Martin Dubravka was relieved to see Werner shoot straight at team-mate Son Heung-min after the South Korea international had picked out the striker with a fine pass before continuing his run.
Dubravka enjoyed another escape with 18 minutes gone when Werner side-footed wastefully across goal from James Maddison’s inviting cut-back.
But it was the hosts who took the lead on the half-hour later when Gordon robbed Destiny Udogie and slid the ball into Isak, who sat Van de Ven down before firing firmly past keeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Newcastle’s joy was doubled within two minutes when full-back Pedro Porro tried to play Burn’s header back to Vicario and Gordon intercepted before rounding the hapless Van de Ven as he went to ground once again and beating the keeper.
Van de Ven did intervene to prevent Isak from converting Anderson’s 35th-minute through-ball and then again as he went for goal two minutes later, and Vicario managed to pluck the ball off the Sweden international’s toe as he controlled Harvey Barnes’ fine cross with the Londoners in tatters at the back.
Maddison forced Dubravka into a 42nd-minute save from distance at the end of a sustained period of pressure, but Isak glanced a Gordon corner wide with Howe’s men refusing to sit on their laurels.
Werner tested Dubravka significantly further within six minutes of the restart, but Newcastle increased their lead seconds later when Isak ran away from Van de Ven to collect Bruno Guimaraes’ inch-perfect ball over the top and drill a shot past Vicario.
Vicario parried an Anderson shot at his near post and Maddison blazed high over at the other end with the Magpies managing their lead in relative comfort despite seeing little of the ball, and they finished with a flourish when Schar powered Gordon’s 87th-minute corner home to make it 4-0.
Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea: Palmer penalty double seals comeback for title-chasing Blues
Cole Palmer's penalty double completed a remarkable 4-3 victory over Tottenham as Chelsea cut the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to four points.
Chelsea thumped nine-man Spurs 4-1 in the corresponding fixture last term but required an almighty comeback as Marc Cucurella's errors gifted the hosts an early 2-0 lead on Sunday.
Dejan Kulusevski's pinpoint finish followed Dominic Solanke's well-taken opener at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, though Jadon Sancho reduced the arrears with a delightful finish with just 17 minutes on the clock.
Palmer levelled just past the hour with his first penalty after Yves Bissouma needlessly felled the marauding Moises Caicedo, who had earlier survived a VAR check for a lunging tackle on Pape Sarr in the first half.
The Chelsea talisman won another spot-kick after Sarr's mindless push, with Palmer coolly drinking beyond Fraser Forster, after Enzo Fernandez had blasted the Blues ahead with 17 minutes remaining.
Son Heung-min’s stoppage-time strike appeared to tee up a nervy ending for Chelsea, though, as the Spurs winger slotted past Robert Sanchez from substitute James Maddison's cutback pass.
However, Enzo Maresca's side held firm to move two points clear of Arsenal in second and make ground on Liverpool, while Spurs sit 11th after a second defeat in the space of three days.
Data Debrief: Chelsea powered by ice-cold Palmer
It seems there is no doubt when Palmer steps up from 12 yards out he will score, as the Chelsea man converted his 11th and 12th penalties in the Premier League on Sunday.
The former Manchester City man has a perfect record from his 12 penalty attempts, the most any player has taken in the competition without ever missing, surpassing Yaya Toure (11).
Palmer has also been directly involved in 38 Premier League goals in 2024 (25 goals, 13 assists), the outright most in a calendar year by a Chelsea player in the competition.
He reached 50 goal involvements (33 goals, 17 assists) in 48 Premier League games for Chelsea here; only Erling Haaland for Man City (39), Andy Cole for Newcastle United (43), and Mohamed Salah for Liverpool (46) have ever reached that total in fewer appearances for a club in England's top competition.
Palmer's heroics saw Tottenham lose an 11th Premier League game after having been two or more goals ahead – at least four more such defeats than any other side in Premier League history.
Bournemouth defeat a big blow for Ipswich, concedes McKenna
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna conceded the nature of his team's dramatic 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth is a 'big blow' for his players.
The Tractor Boys looked on course for their first home victory in the top flight since 2002 after Conor Chaplin put them in front in the first-half.
The home side kept Bournemouth at bay for the majority of the match but late goals from Enes Unal and Dango Ouattara saw his side lose for the third successive match, leaving them 18th and four points adrift of Crystal Palace above them.
McKenna believed his side deserved better but admitted his players have been left impacted by the nature of the defeat.
"It's an extremely disappointed dressing room," he told BBC Sport.
"I thought it was a good performance with some outstanding performances. Conceding late changes the momentum, and then they go and grab a second."
Bournemouth made four substitutions before McKenna made his first sub of the match but the Northern Irishman was adamant that reinforcements were not needed at the time.
He said: "The game was in such a good place, we normally make subs earlier but we were doing well. We weren't giving away too much and we were getting stronger.
"It's a big blow but the group is working so well. We've had a disappointing week but we are working hard and competing with teams."
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola was delighted with the impact of his substitutes as they helped the Cherries to a third successive league win.
He told BBC Sport: "The subs gave us the end product that we were missing. We were arriving in the right places but not finishing.
"They finished well, we were almost in desperation mode at that point. We didn't have much structure and it was just about trying to get something."
Victory leaves Iraola's men just three points off Manchester City, who occupy fourth place, but the Spaniard insists it is not the time to be looking at the table.
"I don't think we have to look at the standings, it's too early," he said.
"The most important thing is trying to win and then we see how many points we can get by the midway point."
Leicester's 'character' in Brighton comeback delights Van Nistelrooy
Leicester boss Ruud Van Nistelrooy was delighted with the character of his side as they came from behind to draw with Brighton and continue his unbeaten start as manager.
Brighton looked to be cruising to an away victory after goals from Tariq Lamptey and Yankuba Minteh handed them a two-goal lead heading into the final five minutes.
But the Foxes fought back, as Jamie Vardy grabbed a goal before setting up Bobby De Cordova-Reid to equalise in second half stoppage time.
The result saw the Foxes move above Crystal Palace in the Premier League table and into 16th, building a five-point gap between themselves and the bottom three.
And speaking after the game, Van Nistelrooy was pleased with his side's desire in their late fightback, lauding his team's ability to "getting the pressure right".
In his post-match press conference, he said: "Coming back from 2-0 down is a great show of character. But I have to say I enjoyed the second half of this team.
"In the second half, we got the pressure right, putting them under pressure, winning the duels in their half, keeping the ball and chasing the 1-1."
Despite just gaining one point in comparison to the 3-1 victory over West Ham in his first game, Van Nistelrooy believes this was an improved performance.
“We were realistic after the West Ham game," he said.
"We were very effective in scoring three goals but we let West Ham in way too much. We acknowledged it. Today the performance was way better than Tuesday, in that sense.
"We controlled the game and put a lot of pressure on Brighton, who are one of the best footballing sides in this league."
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, meanwhile, was disappointed his side let their two-goal lead slip so late on in the game.
The Seagulls have now failed to win two of the last three top-flight games in which they have led by 2+ goals (W1 D2) - as many as their previous 40 beforehand (W38 D2).
There were positives for the Brighton boss, however, as 10 of their outfielders who started this match either registered a shot or created a chance, with Georgino Rutter the only starting player to not do so.
And amid Hurzeler's disappointment, he believes that his side's latest setback will stand them in good stead moving forward.
"It’s just football sometimes. We have to learn from it because we have experienced it this season, and we need to be more mature and finish off the games," Hurzeler said.
"We have to trust the process, and we will reflect on this and look at the positives. A big part is game management. We have to improve."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
