Transformed Wissa & Elanga deliver on Nico's debut - Spurs 0-2 Newcastle
The first Premier League win of the Matthias Jaissle era as Newcastle United beat Tottenham 2-0 in North London with a convincing away win.
We made a strong start in the early stages, showing a nice mix of pressing, crisp passing and movement, but our levels dropped, we lost control and sloppiness set in as Spurs spurned a couple of big chances to go ahead.
A lack of quality in the final third threatened to be the story of the second half, but that soon changed, as a moment of class between Nico Gonzalez, Amar Dedic and Anthony Elanga allowed the Swede to fire home before Yoane Wissa made it 2-0 to seal the win.
And that's the story of the game. While Nico's class shone through, Hall made some massive interventions and Dedic looked superb again from right-back, it was last season's £105m 'flops', Elanga and Wissa, that found the moments of quality just when we needed them to step up.
That said, our signing of the summer might just be Jaissle, who has Newcastle looking energetic, hungry and united again, just weeks after some feared we'd enter 2026/27 in total disarray.
The result leaves us third in the table on four points, behind only Man City and Hull City as of tonight, sending us into next Saturday's home clash with Bournemouth full of confidence and belief.
A mixed first half from Jaissle's Mags
Jaissle made two changes from our opening day draw against Liverpool; Nico Gonzalez replaced Sean Steur for his debut following a £50m move from Man City, while Joe Willock came into the No.10 role, seeing Yoane Wissa play up top following an injury to Will Osula.
Starting 11: Hornicek - Dedic, Thiaw (c), Botman, Hall - Nico, L Miley - Elanga, Willock, Barnes - Wissa.
Substitutes: Jaouen, Schar, Shahar, Bamba, Steur, Ramsey, Toure, Murphy, Woltemade
We were comfortably the better side in the opening stages. Spurs were struggling to play beyond our press, Nico was pinging passes left and right after calmly winning back possession, and there was a real zip to us, both on and off the ball.
Wissa looked sharp and Miley calm and classy, with Dedic and Hall creating width that allowed wide man Elanga and Barnes to drift inside.
Bright start aside, we did ride our luck twice around the 15-minute mark, as Hornicek denied Tel with a strong save before Hall's huge block denied Porro from little over six yards out.
A calm, controlled Nico was outclassing Tonali early on. The latter couldn't find the right weight of pass as the travelling Toon Army chanted "one greedy b******" in the Italian's direction. In contrast, our £50m Spaniard had completed 24 out of his 24 passes in the opening 30 minutes, although it wasn't long until Tonali's energy and drive helped turn the tide.
Nico was making a difference, but the team had lost control of the game heading towards the break. Spurs were seeing more of the ball and went close twice, with an unmarked Marmoush firing wide before Van Hecke's point-blank header was saved by Hornicek. Suddenly, it was our passing that was wayward, inviting Spurs onto us as the home side grew in confidence.
Elanga strikes again and Nico shows his class
The second 45 started with more Spurs pressure, followed by Miley's diagonal that was touched down to Hall from Barnes. The left-back cut onto his right and fired just over the far corner, but that was better: a fast attack with bodies committed forward and a decent effort towards goal.
Then came the moment we'd been crying out for, and clearly walking on. Another Nico diagonal found Dedic, who timed his run perfectly and nodded into Elanga's path. The Swede burst into the box, set himself and angled a low shot in off the post. 1-0 Newcastle, brilliant scenes in front of the away end and another goal for Elanga, who made it two goals in two league games after failing to score once in 32 appearances last season!
And then it was 2-0. Seconds after Jaissle's double change, seeing Woltemade and Steur replace Willock and Nico (on a booking), Big Nick nodded down to Wissa from Hall's corner, and our No.9 made no mistake, flicking in acrobatically after finding space in the six-yard box. A first goal of 2026/27 for Wissa and one the DR Congo star thoroughly deserved for all of his energy, movement and link play.
Both he and Elanga look completely transformed under Jaissle, and the pair were protected with 10 minutes to play, with Jacob Murphy and Jacob Ramsey both coming on. This saw Woltemade move into the No.9 role and Ramsey fill in as a No.10.
And that was that, a 2-0 win to round off such an impressive start to 2026/27 for Jaissle's Mags. Seconds from a big win over Liverpool, through in the Carabao Cup and a convincing three points at Spurs, with a clean sheet to boot!
Next up, we're back at St James' Park next Saturday to face a Bournemouth side who've picked up just one point from their opening two games this season.
Keep the faith. Howay the lads!
