Newcastle fans may well have found themselves in the opposite position to Spurs supporters before the campaign had started - fearful of what was coming. Tonali was one of three key departures from St James' Park, along with captain Bruno Guimaraes, who went to Arsenal for £85m this month, and England winger Anthony Gordon after his £69m move to Barcelona. Manager Eddie Howe left on 31 July after nearly five successful years, which included guiding the Magpies to their first domestic trophy in 70 years with victory in the 2025 Carabao Cup.
Spurs have finished 17th in the Premier League the past two seasons, staying up on the final day of 2025-26. Winger Savio, known as Savinho while at Manchester City before his £75m summer move, had made an impressive debut, scoring in the midweek 5-1 Carabao Cup victory over Charlton, but was ruled out because of what De Zerbi called "muscle fatigue". Striker Richarlison and midfielder James Maddison were also not included, but De Zerbi will be worried by the amount of chances Spurs missed, while they also conceded goals to both shots on target that Newcastle registered.
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