Match report
Full time: Newcastle United 2-3 Leicester City
That’s it! Another defeat for Newcastle, who are having a miserable time at the moment. Leicester, the classier, more composed team, deserved to win an entertaining, slightly shambolic match and move up to eighth in the table. Thanks for your company, bye!
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94 min Gayle’s long-range snapshot is blocked by Ndidi. That might be it for Newcastle.
90+2 min Leicester keep the ball by the corner flag, adding to Newcastle’s frustrations.
90 min Five minutes of added time.
89 min Another Leicester change: Ulloa on, Vardy off.
88 min A substitution apiece: Aleksandar Mitrovic has come on for Newcastle, I’m not sure who for, and Christian Fuchs has replaced Mahrez for Leicester.
87 min You have to feel for Perez, who did so well to get back and was trying to flick the ball behind for a corner. Instead he lifted it over Darlow and into the net.
GOAL! Newcastle 2-3 Leicester (Perez own goal 86)
Merino plays a clever pass down the left to Manquillo, who moves into the box only to realise he has nothing left in his legs. And Leicester rush down the other end to take the lead! Vardy crossed from the left to Okazaki, who controlled the ball and was about to shoot when Perez appeared on the blindside and poked it into his own net!
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85 min This game is ragged now, with Leicester in particular desperate to avoid yet another dominant draw away from home.
84 min Darlow comes for Mahrez’s long free-kick and drops it behind for a corner. Newcastle wanted a foul but I don’t think it was. No matter because the corner is cleared.
81 min Lejeuene is booked for a cynical pull on Chilwell.
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80 min Leicester are down to 10 men for now, with Okazaki off the field receiving treatment for a cut above the left eye. I think he was accidentally kicked in the head by Alan Shearer a Newcastle player.
79 min Joselu slips a nice little pass into the area for Gayle, who drives a first-time shot just wide of the far post from a tight angle. That was a fine effort.
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77 min Newcastle have been a lot better since the introduction of the lively Atsu, who has combined well with Yedlin down the right.
76 min “Hi, Rob,” says Paul Neilan. “What’s Vardy at? Barely a mention of him so far. Tell us now! We must know!”
He hasn’t been involved much at all, though his movement has been as good as ever. Maybe the evolution of Leicester’s style doesn’t help him, or maybe he’s just having a quiet day.
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75 min Hayden is booked for a cynical foul on Chilwell.
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74 min Leicester make their first change: Shinji Okazaki replaces the brilliant yet very frustrating Demarai Gray.
GOAL! Newcastle 2-2 Leicester (Gayle 73)
Another deflection, another goal. A Newcastle corner isn’t properly cleared and comes to Gayle on the right side of the box. He moves the ball onto his left foot and whacks a shot that takes a big deflection off Maguire and wrongfoots Schmeichel.
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72 min Perez’s volleyed cross hits the knee of Simpson and deflects onto his arm, prompting hopefully penalty appeals from Newcastle. Neil Swarbrick isn’t interested.
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71 min Another Newcastle change: Ayoze Perez replaces Jacob Murphy.
69 min Atsu’s deep cross from the right is punched away under pressure by Schmeichel. That, sad to say, was probably Newcastle’s best attack of the half.
66 min Albrighton clips a fine pass from the left from Mahrez, whose cross-shot is palmed away by the diving Darlow. Newcastle are struggling to get of their half.
63 min Newcastle look so nervous. It’s quite hard to watch at times. Rafa Benitez makes his first change, with Matt Ritchie replaced by Chrstian Atsu.
62 min “Hi Rob,” says Peter Oh. “A good number of clutch goals scored in the Premier League today are by players who will not be at the World Cup, e.g. Arnautovic (Austria), Arter (Canada), Bony (Ivory Coast), Mahrez (Algeria).”
Ryan Shawcross.
GOAL! Newcastle 1-2 Leicester (Gray 60)
Leicester take the lead out of nothing! Mahrez drives a long crossfield pass to Albrighton, who cushions a lovely volleyed pass back infield to Gray. He takes it in his stride and lashes a shot that takes a big deflection off Lejeune before flying into the top corner.
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56 min Ndidi wipes out Merino and Hayden with two aerial challenges in as many seconds. Both are down receiving treatment but they look fine.
54 min Leicester, so good for most of the first half, have been really sloppy since the break.
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51 min Murphy wins a corner for Newcastle. Ritchie’s outswinger towards the near post is headed well wide by Joselu.
50 min It hasn’t been the best start to the second half from either side.
48 min Mahrez’s free-kick from the halfway line bounces onto the chest of Merino and deflects onto his arm. There were no appeals for a penalty from Leicester.
46 min Peep peep! Leicester begin the second half.
Half-time reading
Half time: Newcastle 1-1 Leicester
Peep peep! That was good fun. Newcastle started brilliantly, only to make the mistake of scoring an early goal through Joselu. After that they didn’t know whether to stick or twist, and Leicester made the decision for them with a spell of extreme dominance either side of Riyad Mahrez’s equaliser. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
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45 min There will be one minute of added time. The match is meandering towards half-time.
40 min This has been a very entertaining half, with some enterprising forward play and a few bits of not entirely adequate defending. Newcastle, after a torrid 25 minutes, are having a more even share of the game now.
38 min Ritchie’s low free-kick is saved at the second attempt by Schmeichel. Newcastle are coming back into the game.
36 min Chilwell plays a hideous pass across the face of his own area. It goes straight to Murphy, who sweeps a low curling shot is palmed round by Schmeichel. That’s a good save.
34 min Murphy plays a nice reverse pass to the overlapping Manquillo, who slides a low cross to Gayle in the area. He faffs and is dispossessed.
33 min Merino and Hayden are being completely overrun in midfield, with Gray and Mahrez taking up some really dangerous positions ahead of Ndidi and Iborra. There are times when it’s four against two.
31 min Ndidi curls a long pass down the right to Vardy, who tries to repeat his famous goal against Liverpool from the right edge of the box. He doesn’t.
30 min This match is painfully one-sided at the moment. Chilwell’s deep cross is headed wide by Simpson beyond the far post. It wasn’t much of a chance.
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28 min Newcastle are hanging on. Vardy surges into the area, and Yedlin jumps in from the side to make a desperate and probably goal-saving tackle. He barely got a stud on the ball but that was enough.
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27 min Leicester are playing some fine football now. They are certainly starting to change their identity under Claude Puel, with more emphasis on possession and less on counter-attacking.
26 min Gray cuts in from the left and curls a superb cross towards Simpson at the far post. The ball kicks up awkwardly off the pitch and Simpson, on the stretch, can only poke it wide.
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24 min It’s all Leicester now. Albrighton hits a stinging low shot from 25 yards that is well saved by Darlow, low to his right, and Vardy can’t force home the rebound. He was offside anyway, but Albrighton’s shot would have counted. Leicester have had a shooting gallery from long range in this game.
GOAL! Newcastle 1-1 Leicester (Mahrez 20)
Leicester are level this time! Mahrez meanders across the field before hitting a rising drive from 25 yards that bursts through the hands of Darlow and into the far corner. It was a good strike but Darlow should probably have saved it.
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19 min Demarai Gray reminds everyone of his enormous talent with a booming right-footed shot from 25 yards that flies just past the top corner. Darlow was nowhere near it.
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18 min A win today would move Newcastle from 16th to 10th, one place and two points behind Leicester. It’s like a bloody game Snakes & Ladders down there!
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16 min Leicester are starting to come into the game after a slow start. Mahrez plays a square pass to Ndidi, who moves forward and drags a tame shot well wide from long range.
12 min Demarai Gray is booked for not retreating 10 yards at a free-kick.
11 min That could have been a penalty - although Ritchie had his back turned, his arm was extended above his head and blocked the ball. Anyway.
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10 min Chilwell’s cross hits the raised arm of Ritchie in the Newcastle area. Nobody really appeals for a penalty - apart from Steve McManaman, the BT Sport co-commentator, who instinctively shouts “handball”. I’d like to see that again.
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9 min Leicester’s first good attack. Mahrez’s backheel finds Gray, who rattles a low shot that is fumbled behind at the near post by Darlow.
7 min Another chance for Newcastle! Ndidi is robbed by Merino, who pushes the ball forward to Gayle. He shifts the ball onto his left foot and hammers a good shot just wide from 20 yards.
GOAL! Newcastle 1-0 Leicester (Joselu 4)
Newcastle take the lead! Murphy flicked an outside-of-the-foot pass down the left wing to Gayle, who got behind Morgan and cut the ball back from the byline. All the Leicester were going the wrong way, towards their own goal, and could not change direction quickly enough. The ball landed perfectly for Joselu, who arrived late into the box and sidefooted into the net from 10 yards.
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2 min Ritchie wins an early free-kick down the right for Newcastle, whicn is headed behind by Chilwell for a corner. Ritchie curls it onto the six-yard line and Leicester clear.
1 min Newcastle kick off from left to right.
It’s the 125th anniversary of this magnificent football club, and even Rafa has a smile on his face as he chats with his backroom staff. The players are ready. Let’s cook!
The match reports from the 3pm games are starting to appear on the site. You can read them here.
An email! “Hi Rob,” says Hubert O’Hearn. “Was just idly looking at the tables and eicester have the most symmetrical stat line I’ve ever seen. W-D-L/5-5-5. Then 20 scored, 20 against and 20 points total. Not quite sure what to make of this, but it deserves some sot of a name: The Good Team Divide perhaps, or the Border of Excellence. Cheers and fingers crossed for Newcastle!”
Millwall’s 1973-74 team, subject of the classic book Only a Game?, would surely approve.
Pre-match reading
The teams
Newcastle (4-4-2) Darlow; Yedlin, Lejeune, Clark, Manquillo; Ritchie, Hayden, Merino, Murphy; Joselu, Gayle.
Substitutes: Elliot, Lascelles, Diame, Shelvey, Atsu, Perez, Mitrovic.
Leicester (4-2-3-1) Schmeichel; Simpson, Morgan, Maguire, Chilwell; Ndidi, Iborra; Mahrez, Gray, Albrighton; Vardy.
Substitutes: Hamer, Dragovic, Fuchs, King, Okazaki, Ulloa, Iheanacho.
Referee Neil Swarbrick.
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Preamble
Newcastle fans of a certain age will usually have a smile on their face at the prospect of a visit from Leicester. Two such games have taken out a long-term lease in the memory: the 7-1 promotion party of 1992-93, and the crazy comeback of 1996-97, when Alan Shearer scored a hat-trick in the last 14 minutes. This fixture was frequently a goal bonanza in the nineties – the two matches in 1990 alone both ended 5-4 – but it has entered a binary phase since then.
Leicester escaped the constraints of binary to hammer Newcastle 3-0 at St James’ Park on the way to the title in 2015-16. Since winning the title – and despite the enormous counter-attacking threat of Jamie Vardy – they have been poor away from home, with only three wins in 26 league games.
They’ve looked a bit better this season, with a few draws that could have been wins. And tonight they will hope to exploit a growing nervousness among home fans at the prospect of Newcastle being in another bloody relegation battle. There weren’t many of those in the nineties.
Kick off is at 5.30pm.
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