Newcastle United moved into second place, with a comfortable 3-0 win over a disappointing Leicester City.
There were question marks as to whether the Magpies would be able to pick off where they left off before the World Cup, but any concerns were quickly forgotten about, with Eddie Howe’s side 2-0 up after seven minutes.
Leicester looked half asleep and two yards slower than Newcastle in the opening exchanges, with Daniel Amartey giving away an early penalty.
The Magpies breezed into a three-goal lead, with Leicester conceding more goals in the first half than they did in the previous six Premier League fixtures.
Newcastle looked comfortable in the second half, with Leicester creating very little, and the three points were back on Tyneside at half-time.
Story of the match
Newcastle received a late Christmas present from Daniel Amartey, who dangled a leg in front of Joelinton and Jarred Gillett awarded the penalty in the 2nd minute.
Chris Wood stepped up against his old club and converted comfortably from the spot, sending Danny Ward the wrong way.
Leicester could not handle the Newcastle press, with multiple wayward passes in the opening five minutes.
Dennis Praet was forced off with an injury, replaced by former Magpie Ayoze Perez. He was greeted by an applause from both sets of fans.
Newcastle had a deserved second after a beautiful move sliced through the heart of the defence, with Bruno Guimaraes picking out an inch-perfect pass to Miguel Almiron, who continued his fine form after the World Cup break.
The Foxes looked to shake off the rust and get a hold of the game, with Patson Daka looking the most likely to create an opportunity.
The Zambian had Leicester’s best chance he was slipped in behind the Magpies defence, but Nick Pope stood strong and denied Daka with Sven Botman recovering and clearing the goal bound ricochet.
Joelinton topped off a commanding first half performance, with a thumping header from Kieran Trippier’s cross.
Newcastle had picked off where they left off before the World Cup break.
The Toon Army were enjoying their trip to the East Midlands, with some fans chanting “we’re gonna win the league”.
Brendan Rodgers changed into a diamond formation with Jamie Vardy replacing Daka, with Leicester looking to make inroads into Newcastle’s lead.
However, Newcastle were happy with their 3-goal advantage and looked to protect their three points.
Vardy’s introduction began to cause problems, with the striker managing to get in behind the Newcastle defence on a couple of occasions.
One of them created a half chance for the Foxes, with Harvey Barnes inches away from converting Vardy’s whipped cross.
Leicester’s comeback hopes dwindled with Newcastle comfortably seeing the game out, with the Foxes failing to create any clear-cut opportunities.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall had Leicester’s first shot on goal in the 81st minute, a snatched effort into the ground which was saved comfortably by Nick Pope.
Jacob Murphy rounded Ward and looked set to ice the cake with a Newcastle fourth, but defiant defending from Wout Faes denied him.
However the flag was up and the goal would not have stood.
Man of the match
Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle United)
The Brazilian did not feature much in Brazil’s World Cup campaign, and looked like he had a point to prove.
He controlled the midfield battle on Monday afternoon, and his pass to slice the Leicester defence open for Newcastle’s second was exquisite.