How Joelinton's split role helped an underperforming Newcastle beat Tottenham

It’s not uncommon that a single player best summarises the story of a match.

Normally, that would be a player who took the game by storm, maybe scored a goal or two, or was the playmaker controlling the field. However, Newcastle United’s scrappy 2-1 victory against Tottenham Hotspur was best summarised by Joelinton — not for goals, but due to the Brazilian’s abrasive, all-action role in Eddie Howe’s midfield.

Despite Newcastle clinching the three points, this wasn’t their most impressive performance on the ball, with the team missing their usual passing combinations in the wide areas. Down the left side, Joelinton’s brightest moments came when battling for the ball in midfield or dropping to support his left-back, Lloyd Kelly.

Repurposing the successful approach that resulted in a 4-0 win for Howe’s side when they played Tottenham at St James’ Park last season, Newcastle pressed man to man and defended in a 5-4-1 shape to limit Tottenham’s wide combinations and control the threat of their full-backs.

Again, Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes didn’t drop to form the back five, which meant they were in a position to strike on the counter once Newcastle won the ball back. Instead, that role was assigned to Joelinton, who dropped next to Kelly in a left wing-back position when Newcastle were defending in their own half.

In the first 45 minutes, Newcastle’s defensive organisation limited Tottenham to shots from outside the penalty area and chances from set pieces. The switch to a back five without the ball meant that Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie couldn’t overload Newcastle’s defensive line.

In this example below, Joelinton’s positioning allows Kelly to keep an eye on Porro’s darting run and prevents Tottenham’s right-winger Wilson Odobert from receiving the ball comfortably in case James Maddison plays the ball out wide.

In another example, Kelly moves up to track Porro’s positioning between the lines, and because of Joelinton’s role without the ball, Tottenham can’t find Odobert’s run behind the defence, as the Brazilian is dropping to track the winger.

In the second half, Tottenham increased the pressure. The introduction of Brennan Johnson on the right wing helped with that. The Wales forward’s pace and directness constantly threatened Newcastle’s back five, eventually leading to the equaliser.

A mixture of Johnson’s anticipation, Joelinton’s unfamiliarity with the position, his late reaction, and Nick Pope parrying Maddison’s shot all combined to put Johnson in a goalscoring position.

Pope saves Johnson’s shot, but Dan Burn puts the ball into his own net…

In an attempt to beef up the central area and decrease the distance Joelinton has to cover when moving from his midfield role in possession to a left wing-back one out of possession, Newcastle returned to their regular shape without the ball, with the Brazilian now in midfield…

Regardless of his position on the field and the phase of the game, Joelinton was putting in a shift: he was helping out Kelly when he was defending as a left wing-back and winning duels in midfield when he was brought back next to his compatriot, Bruno Guimaraes.

Here, Guimaraes presses Udogie near the centre circle and Joelinton follows up to collect the loose ball and start the attacking transition, which later leads to Jacob Murphy getting close to scoring Newcastle’s second goal if not for Guglielmo Vicario’s save.

In addition, Joelinton was still dropping into the penalty area to assist the back four and clear any dangerous balls.

On the other hand, Newcastle’s best moment in possession came from — you guessed it — Joelinton.

In the build-up to Newcastle’s winner, Joelinton starts from his left No 8 role in midfield, drops to help his team progress the ball, then returns it to Lewis Hall and signals to the left-back to play the pass to Burn because he is roaming inside the pitch. Newcastle’s centre-back finds Joelinton in space, and the Brazilian dribbles past Maddison…

… before playing a line-splitting pass through Tottenham’s block, which puts Murphy in front of goal. The winger then plays the ball across goal for Alexander Isak to score into an empty net.

After taking the lead again, it was Murphy who dropped next to Tino Livramento when Newcastle wanted to defend in a situational back five. This allowed them to use Joelinton’s ball-winning ability in midfield for the remainder of the game.

Joelinton’s performance and tactical role were reflective of Newcastle’s. The defensive organisation limited Tottenham in the first half and the intensity in midfield allowed them to win the ball on multiple occasions, but the performance lacked a sense of control and impact in possession — excluding the through ball that led to the winner.

“It’s so difficult to win in this league, especially if you are not at your absolute best,” said Howe after the game. “We are finding a way to do it — that’s a great sign — but we know that longer term we are going to need to improve our performance.”