How Newcastle’s first-half demolition of Spurs compares to other flying starts

Newcastle scored five times in the first 21 minutes of their 6-1 rout of Tottenham on Sunday – the second-quickest a team has reached that mark in a Premier League game.

Only Manchester City’s 8-0 win over Watford in September 2019 saw five goals scored quicker and here, Football Mad looks at the league’s fastest starts.

Quick out of the blocks

Three goals in the first nine minutes – two from Jacob Murphy sandwiching a Joelinton strike – meant Newcastle’s game against Spurs was over as a contest almost before it started.

When Alexander Isak then scored twice in two minutes to make it 5-0 after 21, the game had entered historic territory.

City produced the only quicker example when David Silva scored in the first minute, Sergio Aguero quickly added a penalty and Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and Nicolas Otamendi made it 5-0 after 18 minutes. Bernardo Silva brought up a hat-trick in the second half before Kevin De Bruyne completed the scoring.

Only two other teams have reached five goals in under half-an-hour – Blackburn in their 7-2 win over Sheffield Wednesday in August 1997, when Chris Sutton scored the fifth in the 24th minute, and Arsenal against Southampton in May 2003. Jermaine Pennant completed his hat-trick in the 26th minute, emulated by Robert Pires in the second half of a 6-1 win.

Five-star

Five goals before half-time equalled the Premier League record, with Newcastle the 12th different club to achieve the feat, while only City have managed it more than once, having also done so in their 6-1 win at Burnley in April 2010 when they led 3-0 after seven minutes.

Spurs are the 11th club to be on the receiving end, with Southampton suffering on three occasions.

In addition to that Arsenal defeat, Jamie Vardy put Leicester 5-1 up on the stroke of half-time in their 9-0 win at St Mary’s in 2019, while Saints also trailed 5-0 after 35 minutes as they lost 7-2 to Everton back in 1996.

They came out on the right end of such a performance in 2015 when Sadio Mane scored the fastest ever Premier League hat-trick, in two minutes and 56 seconds to help them lead Aston Villa 5-0 after 38 minutes, eventually winning 6-1.

Manchester United took 38 minutes to lead Arsenal 5-1 in February 2001 after a Dwight Yorke treble, Teddy Sheringham adding a late sixth.

Liverpool were another unlikely side on the receiving end against Stoke in May 2015, Mame Biram Diouf’s double setting up an eventual 6-1 win for the Potters.

The Reds scored five in the first half of their 9-0 win over Bournemouth early this season, while Wednesday, against Bolton in 1997, and Leeds, against Bradford in 2001, are the other teams to achieve that feat.

Slow start no problem for Magpies

Unsurprisingly, all those teams have won the matches in question. There are a further 85 examples of a team scoring four times in the first half of a Premier League game, and all but three of those also won.

The other games were drawn 4-4, and Bradford led only 4-3 at the break against Derby in April 2000 – and had actually trailed 2-0 after six minutes – while Swansea were 4-2 up against Wolves in 2012.

The other exception is another memorable Magpies performance. They were 4-0 down at half-time – and 3-0 inside 10 minutes – at home to Arsenal in February 2011 but came back to draw 4-4 with a pair of Joey Barton penalties, a Leon Best strike and the late Cheick Tiote’s stunning 87th-minute volley.