Leicester 4-0 Newcastle: (Tielemans 38′, Daka 57′, Tielemans 81′ Maddison 85′)
Newcastle were undone by a combination of the sublime and the sinister from James Maddison as Leicester clambered back into the top half of the Premier League.
The England midfielder cynically bought a first-half penalty converted by Youri Tielemans before displaying the more acceptable elements of his game with a perfectly-weighted first-time pass in the build-up to Patson Daka doubling the Foxes’ lead soon after the break.
Maddison teed up the third for Tielemans before rounding off the scoring himself in an utterly emphatic victory.
Brendan Rodgers’ side overcame the early loss of the hamstrung Jonny Evans to secure only a second home win since the end of October to help offset the disappointment of their midweek Europa League exit.
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The contest swung in their favour seven minutes before the interval after Jamaal Lascelles unwisely hung a leg out for Maddison to require no second invitation to run into and go to ground.
It was ostensibly a penalty won as much as one given away, but one which nevertheless withstood the scrutiny of VAR to stand as the eighth spot-kick of the Premier League weekend.
With regular taker Jamie Vardy on the bench, the responsibility of Leicester’s first penalty of the season fell to Tielemans, who sent Martin Dubravka the wrong way with a confident finish into the top corner on his first league appearance for more than a month following injury.
A nerve-soothing second goal arrived in the 57th minute, as Maddison showed no ill effects of his dramatic fall to earth by releasing Harvey Barnes with an inch-perfect through ball from the outside of his right foot.
Leicester (4-2-3-1)
- Kasper Schmeichel 8
- Timothy Castagne 6
- Jonny Evans 5
- Caglar Soyuncu 6
- Luke Thomas 7
- Youri Tielemans 9
- Wilfred Ndidi 7
- James Maddison 9
- Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall 8
- Harvey Barnes 7
- Patson Daka 8
Subs:
- Boubakary Soumare 7
- Marc Albrighton 6
- Kasey McAteer 6
Newcastle (4-4-2)
- Martin Dubravka 5
- Javi Manquillo 4
- Jamaal Lascelles 4
- Fabian Schar 4
- Jamal Lewis 4
- Miguel Almiron 6
- Jonjo Shelvey 5
- Joe Willock 4
- Allan Saint-Maximin 5
- Calum Wilson 4
- Joelinton 4
Subs:
- Jacob Murphy 4
- Ryan Fraser 5
- Matt Ritchie 5
With the Newcastle defence trailing, Barnes had time and space to roll the ball across an unguarded area for Daka to score for the seventh time this season thanks to a routine finish.
Given Newcastle haven’t overturned a deficit to win on the road for more than eight months and have scored just five times in eight away games this season, it was effectively game over as the mini-revival under Eddie Howe of four points from their previous two games was brought to a halt.
There was still time for two goals in the final 10 minutes, Tielemans making it three by rounding off an energetic move from Leicester’s own half, with Maddison providing the square ball assist after Daka had powered into the Newcastle area.
Maddison earned tangible reward for an outstanding display when he beat Dubravka to claim the fourth after swapping passes with Daka.
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That aside, Newcastle created little more than fleeting half-chances in their attempts to deny the hosts a first league clean sheet since the opening day of the season. With Liverpool and both Manchester clubs providing their next three opponents, a prolonged spell in the bottom three looks inevitable for the world’s richest club.
Maddison: We need to be more consistent
“We’re not naive, the problem has been consistency,” Maddison admitted after only a second league win since the end of October. He added: “All of a sudden you get a good performance and three points and it puts you in the mix for the top six. It’s all about consistency in the Premier League because back-to-back wins gets you right back up there. Now it’s all about conviction going forwards.
“The most pleasing thing after getting an assist, a goal and a penalty is the clean sheet. To look at that scoreboard at the end and see a nil next to the opponent is a good feeling. I can’t even imagine how angry Kasper would have been in the changing room if one of his own team had ruined his clean sheet.”
Howe: The penalty was harsh
Howe described it as a ‘strange’ game, but maybe he’s just not been at St James’ Park long enough because for long periods there was nothing strange about this disjointed, unconvincing Newcastle display. It was same old, same old.
With Liverpool and both Manchester clubs providing their next three opponents either side of Christmas, a prolonged spell in the relegation zone beckons for the world’s richest club.
They are without a win against anyone outside the bottom three since winning at the King Power in May, and Howe added: “We were okay for large parts of the game but I’d say the penalty was harsh and the scoreline looks like a heavy defeat although I don’t think it felt like that at all.
“It wasn’t reflective of what went on out there but we let the game slip away from us. Now we have to regroup very quickly and use the pain from today to help us in our journey this season.”
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