Newcastle United obliterated Premier League top-four rivals Tottenham Hotspur with a five-goal salvo in the opening 21 minutes on the way to a 6-1 rout at a rocking St James’ Park on Sunday.

A game billed as a crucial six-pointer in the race to secure Champions League qualification was effectively all over before the clock had reached 10 minutes as fifth-placed Tottenham collapsed like a pack of cards.

Jacob Murphy got the scoreboard ticking in the second minute after Hugo Lloris spilled a Joelinton shot and four minutes later, Joelinton rounded Lloris to slot in his side’s second goal.

Murphy then belted in Newcastle’s third from long range after Tottenham conceded possession and there was a sense of disbelief in the stadium as Alexander Isak produced two clinical finishes in the space of two minutes to make it 5-0.

It was the second-earliest a team had taken a five-goal lead in Premier League history after Manchester City scored five in the opening 18 minutes against Watford in 2019.

Tottenham’s fans had no stomach for any more humiliation with many heading for the exits long before half time.

The only question left was whether Newcastle could surpass their record Premier League victory of 8-0 against Sheffield Wednesday in 1999 and whether Tottenham could avoid their record top-flight defeat — a 7-0 drubbing at Liverpool in 1978.

Tottenham improved after the break, although it was hard not to, with Harry Kane slotting in a consolation goal four minutes into the second half but Callum Wilson scored Newcastle’s sixth one minute after coming off the bench.

It was the perfect response by Newcastle to last week’s 3-0 defeat at Aston Villa and took them a big step closer to a return to the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.

Newcastle moved above Manchester United into third place with 59 points, six more than Tottenham who have also played a game more.

Earlier, a pair of quick-fire goals by Michail Antonio and Lucas Paqueta and an acrobatic scorpion strike from Pablo Fornals helped West Ham to a 4-0 away win over Bournemouth that moves them further away from the relegation zone.

Late surge gives Klopp confidence

Liverpool: Liverpool have shown a marked improvement in their performances in recent weeks, manager Juergen Klopp said after a 3-2 Premier League win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Liverpool crushed Leeds United 6-1 earlier in the week before edging past strugglers Forest to secure back-to-back league wins for the first time since the start of last month.

“Some things have changed. Today (Saturday) I saw a lot of top counter-pressing moments,” Klopp said.

“I loved that — and that’s, for us, important. I think we are much clearer again in that department.

“If you are not only solid but really good and aggressive in defending then you can build on that. For me, it feels like it’s the first time this season that we have that — late but hopefully not too late.”

Klopp also heaped praise on attacker Diogo Jota, who scored twice against Forest and now has four goals in two games after failing to score in his previous 32 appearances for the club.