Newcastle ease past Leicester to Boost top four Hopes

Newcastle United strengthened their bid for Champions League qualification with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Monday night, April 7th, condemning the hosts to an unwanted piece of history. Jacob Murphy scored twice as Newcastle moved level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea.

Leicester became the first team across the top four tiers of English football to lose eight consecutive home league games without scoring a single goal. The defeat leaves them 15 points from safety with only seven games remaining, pushing them closer to relegation.

Newcastle asserted their dominance early. Inside the first two minutes, Jacob Murphy finished from close range after good work down the left by Tino Livramento. Murphy grabbed his second less than 10 minutes later, reacting fastest to tap home the rebound after Fabian Schär’s audacious long-range effort struck the crossbar.

Eddie Howe’s side effectively sealed the points in the 36th minute. Joelinton cut inside Wout Faes and forced a save from Mads Hermansen, but former Leicester winger Harvey Barnes was on hand to score the rebound, prompting boos around the King Power Stadium.

Leicester, who have now gone over 12 hours without scoring a league goal, offered little threat. Patson Daka came closest, hitting both posts with a single effort before the ball rolled into the hands of Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope.

With the game secured, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe substituted key players Joelinton, Bruno Guimarães, Murphy, and Alexander Isak in the second half, likely with an eye on their upcoming fixture against Manchester United on Sunday. Leicester manager Ruud van Nistelrooy handed a Premier League debut to 15-year-old forward Jeremy Monga, making him the second-youngest player in the competition’s history after Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri.

The victory lifts Newcastle to fifth place in the Premier League, level on points with Chelsea in fourth, and crucially, with a game in hand. Leicester face a trip to Brighton on Saturday as they seek to end their dismal run.