Leicester City were rampant in defeating ten-man Newcastle United 5-0 at the King Power Stadium in Sunday’s only Premier League fixture.
Two goals from Jamie Vardy and a Paul Dummett own goal added to Ricardo Pereira’s opener, with Wilfried Ndidi completing the rout late on. The Foxes move back up to 3rd in the table, whilst Newcastle remain in the bottom three.
Story of the Match
Perfect start for Leicester
Pereira got the hosts off to a good start in the 16th minute, capping off a driving run with a fine low shot from outside the box after a one-two with former Magpie Ayoze Perez.
Newcastle struggled to gain a foothold in attack, despite playing in a more offensive formation with two strikers up front. Their chances of getting back into the game were all but dashed in the 43rd minute when midfielder Isaac Hayden was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Dennis Praet.
Foxes blitz visitors
After the half-time break it was all Leicester, with the free-flowing Foxes producing three further goals within the space of ten minutes. Vardy was sent clear in the Newcastle box and flashed in a shot at the near post which Martin Dubravka should have saved. Their afternoon got even worse minutes later, as Praet’s shot was heavily deflected past the helpless Dubravka by Dummett.
Vardy then added a fourth with a goal straight out of their title winning season scrapbook, calmly nodding home a delicately flighted Marc Albrighton cross. Ndidi then finished off the Magpies with a shot on the turn in the 90th minute after being given too much space in the box.
Takeaways from the match
No Maddison, no problem
Leicester were without key man James Maddison who missed out through injury but did not seem to miss him. Their other midfielders, especially an influential display from his replacement Dennis Praet, were more than enough for a lacklustre Newcastle side who may regret changing from their five at the back system.
Wilfried Ndidi set the tone for the win in centre midfield, breaking up the weak Newcastle attack and allowing the pace of Harvey Barnes and Vardy to cause their defence all sorts of problems. His late goal perfectly capped off a five-star performance from the Nigerian international.
Jamie Vardy continues excellent form under Rodgers
Vardy has benefited greatly from Brendan Rodgers’ arrival, now playing in a more attacking side than under Claude Puel, and his brace today shows he is still one of the deadliest strikers in the Premier League.
His two-goal haul means he has five goals in his opening seven matches this season and has now scored five goals against Newcastle in his career, making them his third-favourite team to score against.
Newcastle becoming early relegation candidates
The Magpies may not have expected much out of this game at the start of the day, but the manner of their defeat will be very alarming, especially after putting in a spirited performance at Anfield in their last away trip.
Steve Bruce will be justifiably disappointed with the way the ten-man side collapsed in the second half, with the only positive to take away from the King Power Stadium the fact that Andy Carroll was able to gain more match fitness.
With only Watford having a worse record in the league this season, Steve Bruce will now be under increased pressure from the Newcastle fans, many of whom were unimpressed by his appointment in the first place. With Manchester United and Chelsea up next, it remains to be seen how quickly the Magpies can turn around their poor start to the season.
Stand-out Players
Jamie Vardy may take the headlines for scoring two of the five goals, but Wilfried Ndidi epitomised Leicester's competitive spirit and built the foundations for the Foxes' win by dominating the Newcastle midfield.