Tottenham kicked off their Premier League campaign with a deserved 2-0 win away to a Newcastle side who had to play most of the second-half with 10 men.
Back in the big time under Rafa Benitez, Newcastle struggled to threaten the Spurs goal, with the visitors the better side throughout. However, Tottenham failed to make the breakthrough in the first-half.
Harry Kane was arguably lucky only to see yellow for a dangerous challenge on Florian Lejeune before the break.
Soon after the re-start, the Magpies’ hopes of getting something out of the game hit a snag when Jonjo Shelvey was sent off for a ridiculously silly stamp on Dele Alli.
Spurs took advantage of their extra man on 61 minutes, with Alli finally breaking the deadlock from close-range after a superb pass from the excellent Christian Eriksen.
Eriksen was at the heart of all of Tottenham’s good play on the day, and the Dane was instrumental in the move which led to Ben Davies making it 2-0 for the Lilywhites on 70 minutes.
Late on, both Christian Atsu and Ciaran Clark went close for the Magpies, but ultimately they were well beaten on their return to the top-flight.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino will no doubt be pleased with his side’s season opener, although the need for a few new faces remains.
Benitez is also eager to strengthen his squad, although he’ll no doubt be eager to have a word with Shelvey too.