After the frustrating defeat at Brentford, Newcastle responded with a dominant display. The Magpies annihilated Leicester 4-0 in the 16th round of the Premier League, with St. James' Park roaring. Jacob Murphy scored two goals, while Bruno Guimarães and Alexander Isak each added one.
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The win hoisted Newcastle to 11th place with 23 points while Leicester, now in 16th place with just 14 points, is precariously close to the relegation zone.
This victory came at the right time, especially with the Carabao Cup quarterfinals on the horizon. For Leicester, the defeat was a harsh setback. Ruud van Nistelrooy, who had collected four points in his first two games, watched his team crumble under Newcastle's relentless attack. The defense looked shaky, and the attack was nearly invisible.
Total domination from the start
From the opening whistle, Newcastle controlled the match. Anthony Gordon had the first big chance at the 8th minute, charging down the left and firing a powerful shot that Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen deflected.
The resulting corner presented another chance. Dan Burn, up to meet the cross, sent his header over the bar. Gordon was unstoppable. Down the left flank he created chance after chance, interchanging quickly with Lewis Hall and Bruno Guimarães in plays that left Leicester's defense scrambling.
The reward finally came at the 30-minute mark for Newcastle. Sandro Tonali played a short corner with Gordon, who delivered a perfect cutback pass to Jacob Murphy at the edge of the box. Murphy struck it first time and beat Hermansen, capping off Newcastle's intense first half hour.
Before halftime, Isak almost doubled the advantage, but Hermansen came up big again to keep Leicester in the game.
A second-half flood of goals
The break brought an unexpected change for Leicester as Hermansen was replaced by Danny Ward in goal. However, he had barely had time to get his bearings before picking the ball out of his net.
Just seconds into the second half, Bruno Guimarães doubled the lead to 2-0. After a deep free kick from Gordon, the ball deflected into Guimarães' path, and the Brazilian slotted it home. It was his first goal of the season, celebrated loudly by the Newcastle fans.
Minutes later, Newcastle struck again. At the 49th minute, Lewis Hall's cross from the left came off Conor Coady's head and was headed into the net by Alexander Isak. The third sealed the match effectively.
Newcastle did not relent. Confident Murphy nearly added another after he had been set up by Isak, but his shot flew over the bar. At the other end, Martin Dúbravka — on for the injured Nick Pope — had his first real work at the 55 minutes mark diving to stop a shot from Kasey McAteer.
Murphy wraps it up
Any doubts about Newcastle's star performer were removed in the 60th minute. Isak danced past Jannik Vestergaard and set up Jacob Murphy, who drove a low shot past Ward. It was Murphy's second goal of the night and the cherry on top of a brilliant Newcastle performance.
In the closing moments, Harvey Barnes, playing against his former club, came close to scoring twice. Ward denied him both times, and Barnes later assisted Lewis Hall, whose header went just wide.