Leicester became the first side in Football League history to lose eight home games in a row without scoring as Newcastle boosted their Champions League qualification chances with a 3-0 thrashing at the King Power Stadium.
Already-relegated Southampton parted with Ivan Juric earlier in the day amid talk the Premier League’s bottom team are the competition’s worst-ever – but Leicester have hardly been much better and their own drop back to the Championship seems inevitable after this capitulation.
Fifteen points behind 17th-placed Wolves with seven to play looks an impossible task for Ruud van Nistelrooy’s sorry side, who have now gone over 12 hours without scoring in the top flight.
Their own fans were chanting, ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt’ when Jacob Murphy added his and Newcastle’s second after 11 minutes. He was the only player to react when Fabian Schar’s shot from his own half lobbed Mads Hermansen and came back off the bar.
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Jacob Murphy gave Newcastle the lead after two minutes
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Murphy doubled Newcastle’s lead after Fabian Schar’s spectacular effort from inside his own half came back off the crossbar
It summed up the lack of intensity from Leicester’s defence, which was also on show when Murphy tapped in Tino Livramento’s cross one minute and 53 seconds in, and again when James Justin and Wout Faes allowed Joelinton to twist and shoot before Harvey Barnes pounced on the rebound. The winger looked a little embarrassed to score in such fashion against his former side.
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Harvey Barnes scored Newcastle’s third against his former club
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Also in the first half, Patson Daka hit both posts with a shot and then saw an offside flag go up to underline how things just aren’t going Leicester’s way. But it’s now 15 defeats in their last 16 Premier League games and their fans – who have now seen a club-record 11 home losses this term – made their feelings clear, with many heading for the exits at half-time.
Monga becomes second-youngest PL player
During the second half, Jeremy Monga came on for his debut. At the age of 15 years and 271 days, he became the second-youngest player to play in the Premier League (Ethan Nwaneri was 15 years 181 days).
These are two teams going in very different directions. Newcastle’s walkover win – sealed in the most serene of second halves – has lifted them up to fifth in the table, level with fourth-placed Chelsea on points and with a game in hand on the teams around them.
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They look primed to back up their Carabao Cup triumph by booking a place at Europe’s top table for next term.
Their remaining fixtures won’t be as easy as this, though.
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Jamie Carragher and Craig Bellamy discuss who they think will qualify for next season’s Champions League
Van Nistelrooy answers questions about his future
Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy:
“It’s clear where it went wrong. Very early in the game, again. Then after [34] minutes we lost the game and that’s a tough one to take.
“If you look at the goals carefully, we could have done better ourselves on all three. You can see the duel we miss, the back post where we were in a good position but don’t clear the ball. For the second and third we lose the ball in positions where we can’t lose it. Then Newcastle is deadly in the counter attack and they finished off the game very quickly.”
On Leicester’s inability to score: “It’s a confidence thing. In the second half you can see when there is no pressure anymore to play it frees people up. Then you see some reasonable football going forward but when the pressure is on to win games, stay in games, it becomes very difficult. With an early couple of goals it collapses.”
On his future: “This is a difficult night, especially with the run of form we’re in. It’s important to analyse this and sleep on it and recover from it. That is it for now.”
Are there questions in his mind about continuing? “There are no questions, but it’s dealing with this setback, another one for now, that’s what I can say.”
Player ratings
Leicester: Hermansen (4), Thomas (4), Coady (4), Faes (3), Justin (3), Ndidi (4), Soumare (5), Kristiansen (4), El Khannous (6), Daka (5), Vardy (5).
Subs: Mavididi (6), Buonanotte (6), Monga (7), Pereira (6).
Newcastle: Pope (6), Trippier (6), Schar (7), Burn (7), Livramento (7), Tonali (7), Guimaraes (7), Joelinton (7), Murphy (8), Isak (6), Barnes (7).
Subs: Miley (6), Longstaff (6), Osula (6), Wilson (6), Krafth (N/A)
Player of the Match: Jacob Murphy (Newcastle)
Carra: Leicester will probably change manager when relegation confirmed
Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher:
“You look at what Southampton have done, probably as soon as it becomes official that Leicester have gone down – and we know that’s imminent – I’m sure they’ll make a change. They have to start planning for next season in the Championship and I don’t think Ruud will be the manager there. I don’t think he’d expect to be.
“When Steve Cooper lost his job, he was an experienced manager, kept Nottingham Forest up. A difficult start but an expected start – a promoted team, you’re not going to find it easy. They weren’t actually in the relegation zone when they changed the manager.
“I could understand it. Leicester had only been in the Championship for one season. They won the Premier League in 2016. They probably have the best training ground in the whole country. The infrastructure of that club is a Premier League club, so when they come up, you know it’s not going to be easy but that wasn’t a club that would have expected to go down and go down as meekly as they have.
“There’s something not right – whether it’s the decisions they’ve made managerial-wise, investment in the squad – something is not right at that football club to put in a performance like that this season. For Leicester to perform the way they have this season in the Premier League has been embarrassing.”
Howe pleased with Newcastle response to cup final win
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Eddie Howe said he feels momentum building after their League Cup success and his players are producing confident performances
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe:
“There was a worry when we won the competition that suddenly we’d drop. The feeling you achieve a massive high and then there’s fallout from that. The big challenge we made to the group was can we go again? They’ve done that really well. We’ve won two tough games and now we have three in a week coming up.”
On Alexander Isak’s fitness: “I think he’s 100 per cent fit. I wouldn’t have taken any risks with him tonight if he wasn’t. It was an opportunity tonight to rest him with the game in a good position for us. But I don’t think we’ll have to manage him from this point onwards, fingers crossed he’ll be fine.”
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