Premier League Match Report: Leicester City 2 - 4 Newcastle

Note: The new format for the match report today is in response to some constructive criticism from a friend and Newcastle supporter.

Leicester City slipped on a banana peel, did a triple somersault, and landed on a rake which struck them square in the face on Friday evening, losing 4-2 to Newcastle United. Four very preventable goals were too big a hill to climb, and two late strikes for the Foxes proved nothing more than consolation. It was a deeply disappointing result that came from a deeply disappointing performance.

Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images

The visitors took a deserved 2-0 lead at the half through goals by Joe Willock and Paul Dummett. Willock caught Çağlar Söyüncü in possession in his own half, taking the ball off the defender’s foot and scoring from close range one-on-one with Schmeichel. The Magpies doubled their lead from a needlessly given corner when Dummett rose above Wesley Fofana to power home from close range. It wasn’t all one-way traffic, as Jamie Vardy, Kelechi Iheanacho, and Fofana were all denied by good saves from Geordie keeper Martin Dubravka.

Photo by Nick Potts - Pool/Getty Images

The half-time team talk was for naught as the visitors withstood a brief flurry from the Foxes and then doubled their advantage yet again through breakaway goals by Callum Wilson. Leicester attempted to mount a late comeback, getting two goals back from strikes by Marc Albrighton and Iheanacho. In injury time, Drubavka again came to the rescue for Newcastle, saving a point-blank effort from substitute Ayoze Perez.

Leicester looked out of sorts from the beginning as an injury during the warm-ups to Jonny Evans forced Rodgers to pick an unfamiliar side, shifting Timothy Castagne to centre-half and bringing in Albrighton on the left. The back three were not at all on the same wavelength, and all three were responsible in part for each Newcastle goal.

Actually, it’s super easy. Barely an inconvenience. Oh, you meant as a Leicester supporter, not a Newcastle defender.

The defeat leaves the Foxes on 63 points from 35 matches. Leicester remain third on the table, two points ahead of Chelsea and five clear of West Ham, both of whom have a game in hand. Next on the docket is a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on Tuesday the 11th. , then it’s the FA Cup Final against Chelsea on the 15th of May.

LEICESTER 3-4-1-2: Schmeichel, Castagne, Fofana, Söyüncü, Ricardo (Thomas 69), Tielemans, Ndidi (Ayoze 63), Albrighton, Maddison (Mendy 77), Iheanacho, Vardy

Goals: Albrighton (Vardy) 80, Iheanacho (Ayoze) 87

NEWCASTLE 5-3-2: Dubravka, Fernandez, Dummett, Krafth, Ritchie, Murphy, Shelvey, Almiron (Hendrick 77), Willock (Longstaff 84), Saint-Maximin (Joelinton 88), Wilson

Goals: Willock 22, Dummett (Ritchie) 34, Wilson, 64, 73

MAN OF THE MATCH: Martin Dubravka - Leicester certainly didn’t deserve anything from this match, but he made four brilliant saves to ensure that we didn’t.

I am not laughing and I can vouch for the truth of this.