Alexander Isak grabs winner as Newcastle edge out Tottenham

Alexander Isak’s first goal of the season handed Newcastle a priceless 2-1 Premier League victory over Tottenham on an eventful afternoon at St James’ Park.

The Swedish international struck 13 minutes from time to settle a pulsating encounter, which the visitors dominated for long periods but were unable to convert the pressure into goals.

Keeper Nick Pope, who was partially to blame for the Dan Burn own goal that cancelled out Harvey Barnes’ opener, atoned with a series of fine saves and was also grateful for the intervention of his crossbar and some less-than-accurate finishing.

However, Eddie Howe’s men, watched by chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan among a crowd of 52,211, many of them still questioning a relative lack of summer transfer activity, were once again far from their best despite the return to league football of Italy international Sandro Tonali as a second-half substitute following a 10-month ban.

Spurs found themselves under early pressure when Isak robbed Son Heung-min deep inside enemy territory and chipped an audacious fifth-minute attempt over keeper Guglielmo Vicario, which clipped the bar.

Vicario was sent sprawling across his goal three minutes later after Barnes cut inside from Anthony Gordon’s pass and fired just wide, although the visitors started to work their way into the game with Son, Yves Bissouma and James Maddison prominent and had a 12th-minute Cristian Romero header correctly ruled out for offside.

Emil Krafth and Lloyd Kelly went close from corners in quick succession at the other end, but Wilson Odobert replied in kind with a rising strike, which Pope was happy to see narrowly miss the target.

Pope had to get down well to beat away a 25th-minute Pape Sarr effort after Son and Dejan Kulusevski had opened up the Newcastle rearguard, and he denied the same player for a second time two minutes later with Spurs pushing hard.

However, it was the hosts who went ahead eight minutes before the break when Burn took a quick throw to Kelly and saw the full-back cross for Barnes to steer the ball first time across Vicario and inside the far post.

It took a well-timed challenge by Radu Dragusin to prevent Isak from making the most of Tino Livramento’s ball in behind the visitors’ rearguard two minutes after the restart, but Spurs continued to enjoy the lion’s share of the possession.

Odobert was unable to convert half-time substitute Brennan Johnson’s deflected 54th-minute cross from beyond the far post and Burn blocked Son’s attempt at the end of a determined solo run before Pedro Porro’s deflected cross looped onto the crossbar.

However, Pope was finally beaten with 56 minutes gone when he could only push Maddison’s shot out to Johnson, who turned it back across goal for Burn to turn the ball into his own net in a desperate attempt to clear the danger.

The momentum was firmly with the visitors, who were controlling the middle of the field, but Vicario had to save substitute Jacob Murphy’s stabbed attempt after Bruno Guimaraes, Isak and Gordon had linked.

Tonali arrived as a 68th-minute replacement for Sean Longstaff, but Odobert failed to capitalise on an error by Burn as Tottenham sniffed victory and Guimaraes only just managed to stab another Johnson cross wide of his own goal.

Pope saved brilliantly from Maddison and Porro in quick succession and Johnson shot wastefully over. They paid the price with 13 minutes remaining when Murphy broke clear onto Joelinton’s through-ball and timed his pass to perfection to allow Isak to score.