Are Newcastle a real top-four contender in Premier League?

The European weekend again served up a healthy, tasty menu of drama for all of us across the big leagues. Newcastle upset Tottenham away from home to give further credence to what they’re building, while Victor Osimhen’s return for Napoli was marked with a goal and another three points. Elsewhere, Real Madrid and Barcelona notched confidence-boosting victories in LaLiga, Bayern Munich inched closer to a struggling Union Berlin in the Bundesliga table, and Liverpool’s top-four hopes took a hit with a humbling defeat at Nottingham Forest.

There were also talking points for Dortmund (welcome back, Giovanni Reyna), Milan and Arsenal, who thought they’d win with ease at Southampton only to succumb to a second-half goal and two points dropped. (With Erling Haaland in sterling form for Man City, look out, Gunners.)

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It’s Monday, and Gab Marcotti reacts to the biggest moments in the world of football.

Win at Tottenham sends Newcastle into the top four … so are they for real?

There’s a stat that doesn’t steer you far wrong when it comes to the Premier League. For all the talk of competitive balance, there is such a thing as a “Big Six,” and they generally occupy the top spots. In fact, since 2005, on only one occasion has a club from outside those six broken into the top four spots: That was Leicester City in their fairy-tale title-winning season (2015-16).

Yet with Newcastle winning 2-1 away to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, Eddie Howe’s men are now fourth, and given the club’s deep-pocketed owners (the sovereign wealth fund of the state of Saudi Arabia), the prospect of more investment feels around the corner. Will the Big Six become a Big Seven?

Personally, I’d pump the brakes a little bit. For a start, sure, they’re fourth on 21 points, but Chelsea (also on 21) and Manchester United (on 20) have played one game fewer, so they could just as easily be sixth. And even though they were worthy winners away to Spurs (who had…