Newcastle United 2-2 Tottenham: Late Romero goals stun St James´ Park

Cristian Romero’s double, which included an overhead kick in the 95th minute, saw Tottenham salvage a dramatic 2-2 draw with Newcastle United at St James’ Park.

Spurs had to fight back from a goal down on two occasions to stop the rot following back-to-back Premier League defeats, with their captain – who returned from a one-match ban for accruing five yellow cards – leading the way.

Newcastle had dominated the first half with Joelinton striking the post from a tight angle, and they went ahead in the 71st minute.

Anthony Gordon scampered down the left flank before Nick Woltemade, whose clever lay-off allowed half-time substitute Bruno Guimaraes to curl home.

Spurs responded quickly, with Romero stooping to meet Mohammed Kudus’ right-wing cross with a header that nestled in the bottom corner in the 78th minute.

But Newcastle came roaring back and when a VAR review saw Rodrigo Bentancur penalised for a shirt pull on Dan Burn from a corner, Gordon kept his cool to fire home from the penalty spot.

However, there was one final twist to come.

Aaron Ramsdale could only half clear Mathys Tel’s delivery from a left-wing corner, and though Romero did not make the cleanest connection with his acrobatic attempt, the ball tricked into the far corner to stun the home fans into silence.

Data Debrief: Romero leads stirring comeback

It looked set to be another demoralising outing for Thomas Frank’s Spurs, who reached half-time without attempting a single shot on target for the fourth consecutive Premier League game, also doing so versus Fulham, Arsenal and Chelsea.

But Romero showed his forwards how to finish as Spurs became the first team to score two equalising goals in the final 15 minutes of a Premier League game since February 2018.

It was also Tottenham that achieved that feat on that occasion, in another 2-2 draw against Liverpool, and it was the first time Romero had scored more than once in a game in one of Europe’s top five leagues (199th appearance). The Argentina defender accounted for Spurs’ only two shots on target.

The visitors ended the game with an expected goals (xG) figure of just 0.79, compared to Newcastle’s 1.96. However, the Magpies have now dropped the joint-most points from winning positions in the Premier League this season (11, also Brentford).