Jaissle secures first Premier League win as Newcastle beat Tottenham 2-0

Newcastle United defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a Premier League match on Saturday evening, denying Sandro Tonali the reunion he had anticipated with his former club. Sandro Tonali anticipated being "more nervous" than usual about coming up against former club Newcastle United for the first time, and was taunted by away fans with: "Sandro, what's the score?" as he watched from the bench.

The victory came amid significant summer transfer activity on both sides: Tonali joined Spurs for a fee worth up to £100m last month, while Newcastle reinvested a similar combined amount in signing Nico Gonzalez, Amar Dedic and Lukas Hornicek. Many of Newcastle's other players inherited by head coach Matthias Jaissle, such as Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa, showed improved form, and only Gonzalez of Newcastle's seven summer signings had previous Premier League experience; all the new arrivals are aged 24 and under.

Defender Amar Dedic, signed for £30m from Benfica, and goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek, signed for £25.7m from Braga, made immediate contributions. Hornicek produced three important first-half saves and Jaissle clenched his fists after Hornicek got a strong hand behind Jan Paul van Hecke's header; Lewis Hall also blocked a goalbound effort from Pedro Porro in the first half. "In the first half, we didn't play a really good game, but we could really count on everyone throwing everything into every ball and every cross," Jaissle said. "This is the commitment and belief that we can keep the clean sheet, so that makes me proud."

Newcastle had struggled for away form the previous season, winning just four of their 19 top-flight matches on the road and not keeping a clean sheet since March, but they regrouped at half-time in this match. The visitors were more aggressive after the break and converted both of their only shots on target to secure the win.

For the opener, Gonzalez delivered a cross-field ball over the head of Spurs left-back Andy Robertson for Dedic to flick on to Elanga, who turned Tonali inside the box and fired the ball in off the post. Gonzalez said: "It is something that I spoke about with the coach, even before the game," Gonzalez said. "He wanted me to see these kind of balls and I tried a few in the first half and the second half, and we scored. "In the second half we said, 'we have to keep doing this' because it is really hard to defend players like Amar, a full-back that comes this fast from behind. Normally wingers don't defend these kind of balls very well. "It's something that we have to keep doing and I hope it gives us many more goals this season."

New signings Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa, who each joined Newcastle last summer for £55m from Nottingham Forest and Brentford respectively, combined on the second goal. Sean Steur's corner was headed down by substitute Nick Woltemade and Wissa improvised with an overhead kick to double Newcastle's lead. Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Wissa said: "He's a really dynamic manager so we need to give everything," Wissa told Sky Sports. "I think he's the best signing."

The result delivered Matthias Jaissle his first Premier League victory, but he cautioned against overreaction and stressed the work ahead: "We have our own goals and we are clear with that," Jaissle said. "We are also realistic. Now you write everything is top, everything is great. "We don't follow that too much. We are emotionally very stable and don't see the highs higher than it is now. "It is a moment to enjoy as well after that start, but we are also smart enough to see a long journey ahead of us and there will be challenges as well."