Bale bags brace as Spurs beat Magpies

Gareth Bale lived up to his billing as Tottenham's own Cristiano Ronaldo after firing Andre Villas-Boas' side to an entertaining 2-1 victory over Newcastle at White Hart Lane.

Villas-Boas was at pains to point out the similarities between Bale and Ronaldo during the week, and the Welshman put in a performance the Portuguese would have been proud of.

Bale beat Tim Krul with a 25-yard free-kick to open the scoring for the Londoners and he then sealed the win with a superb break-away goal that ended with him slotting the ball between the Newcastle goalkeeper's legs. Newcastle's goal came from Yoan Gouffran, who was later carried off on a stretcher with a serious-looking leg injury.