Tottenham are out of the EFL Cup, but there were signs from their performance against Newcastle of some crucial improvement under Thomas Frank.
On Wednesday night, Tottenham were knocked out of the EFL Cup after a hardly surprising 2-0 defeat at Newcastle. They went into the game with a terrible record against Eddie Howe’s side, having lost five of their previous six meetings in all competitions, so when Thomas Frank named a weakened team, his hand at least partially forced by a considerable injury list, a loss felt inevitable.
And so it was. Spurs are out of the cup competition that has provided their biggest hope of silverware for much of this century, and was probably their best chance of a trophy in Frank’s first season at the club.
For many fans, not least the 3,000 who made the long midweek trip to the north east, it was a bitterly disappointing night. Newcastle made wholesale changes, too, so the opportunity was there for a first win at St. James’ Park since 2021. Instead, Spurs failed to score, conceded two soft goals and sank without trace. Barring a first FA Cup triumph since 1991, or a shock run at the Premier League or Champions League, both of which essentially feel impossible at this stage, Spurs will end this season trophyless. There was certainly reason to be downbeat.
However, there were also lots of positives to take from this defeat; probably more in fact than there were from last Sunday’s resolute and set-piece based 3-0 win at Everton, in which centre-back Micky van de Ven set Spurs on their way with two headed goals from corners.
It’s been an interesting start to life at Spurs for Frank. His side are third in the Premier League, the joint-top scorers with 17 goals, and only Arsenal have a better defensive record. They also remain unbeaten through three games in the Champions League.
But some performances have been underwhelming, and some have been unconvincing, too. Similarly unconvincing was Frank’s insistence in a press conference last week that there has “only been one bad game – Bournemouth – and then two bad second halves – against Wolves and Monaco.”
Most people who have watched Spurs this season would argue Spurs played very badly in both halves in those latter two games, while the performances in going 2-0 down at Bodø/Glimt and in throwing away a lead to lose to Aston Villa were both pretty poor as well. Their league position hasn’t really reflected the quality of their displays.
Sure, a win at Newcastle would have been a very nice remedy, but failing that, a good performance is a decent consolation prize.
Spurs have struggled to create consistently in open play all season. Their open-play xG of 6.5 is the fifth lowest of all teams in the Premier League in 2025-26. Clear-cut chances have been very hard to come by.
tottenham open play xG 2025-26
Against Newcastle, that remained the case, and their xG of 0.67 (most of which came in open play) proves as much. However, there were a few occasions when they got into good positions but failed to get a shot away – moves that added no xG value to their total. Sometimes, stats don’t tell the whole story.
Twice, Richarlison mistimed his run in a central position and failed to get on the end of good balls coming his way, first from Lucas Bergvall and then from Brennan Johnson. Later, Xavi Simons overhit a pass to Johnson that would have given the Welshman a clear sight of goal. Tottenham’s final ball let them down more than an inability to get into dangerous positions. Strangely, that felt encouraging.
It was all the more so given Mohammed Kudus, Spurs’ biggest, best and sometimes only creative threat since his summer move from West Ham, was on the bench, having been given a well-earned rest.
A big problem for Spurs this season has been playing forward passes through the middle of the pitch. The double pivot of João Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur have made progressing through the heart of the opposition look extremely difficult. Against Everton at the weekend, as a team, they played barely any forward passes through central areas, and most of those that they did were unsuccessful.
tottenham forward passes vs Everton
tottenham forward passes vs Newcastle EFL Cup
Against Newcastle, with Palhinha in central defence, Spurs found the feet of their attacking players in the middle of the pitch much more reliably. They moved the ball from back to front as smoothly as they have in any game under Frank, with the distribution of back-up goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky making a big difference, and many of their outfielders passing the ball with a freedom and intent that has largely been lacking. The difference between the above maps of their forward passes in their last two games is stark.
Goals eluded them at Newcastle, but they haven’t found it difficult to find the net in general this season. Fairly remarkably given the level of their performances, nobody has scored more than their 17 Premier League goals in 2025-26. They have overperformed compared to their xG to a greater extent (+6.9) than any other team, a figure that’s aided by a few very good finishes from tough positions, including both of Richarlison’s goals against Burnley and the two goals they scored at Leeds. As a result, there’s every chance they won’t continue scoring at their current rate.
However, the performance at Newcastle will give the team belief that they can find their groove and start firing in open play. If they can pass through the thirds like they did in this game a bit more consistently, chances will surely flow more freely and they won’t need to overperform against their xG as much.
In a low-scoring division, Spurs are actually doing fairly well in front of goal. Despite their problems in possession, they have the best record of every team in the division in open play; if only open-play goals counted this season, Spurs would, somewhat bafflingly, be top of the league.
Premier League Table if only open-play goals counted
There is unquestionably more to come from them, though. Frank is the first to admit his players haven’t hit their full attacking potential under him. “I think we are in the beginning of building something,” he said after the win at Everton. “I’m very happy with a lot of things: the defensive side, attacking set-pieces, but there is a bit we need to work on offensively to be more free-flowing.”
Set-pieces have provided the base of their solid start under their new manager. Without them, they probably wouldn’t have scored their third goal (from open play) against Everton. Nor would they have won so convincingly at West Ham last month when they also scored twice from corners.
With next to no set-piece threat at Newcastle, they ended up losing and, based on the quality of actual chances each team created, probably deservedly to.
Newcastle 2-0 Spurs stats League Cup
But there were signs of growth with the ball that bode well for the future under Frank. They just need to learn to do it with Palhinha back in midfield (there seems little chance of him being dropped) and Guglielmo Vicario – who is so much more reliable at keeping the ball out of the net than Kinsky, who was at fault for the second of Newcastle’s goals – back between the sticks. They also need to learn to play the ball forward centrally rather than just pass it out wide to Kudus when he is on the pitch.
Spurs may well end the season trophyless, but after May’s Europa League triumph, the need for more silverware feels rather less desperate. Progress on the pitch and consistency of results is arguably more important for the long-term stability of the club.
Despite losing at Newcastle, this felt like a game that could breed some much-needed confidence in the team that they can soon hit their best a little more consistently. As losses go, this was one of the more positive.
Premier League Stats Opta
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