7 April 2025
Leicester 0 Newcastle 3
Life at the King Power Stadium is not pleasurable for Ruud van Nistelrooy right now. His side look certain to be heading back down to the Championship and they seem unable to score goals currently. They welcomed Newcastle for a Monday night fixture with the visitors looking to build on their first silverware for some time by qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
A long ball downfield from Hermansen straight from kick-off was flicked on into the path of Vardy. The veteran striker managed to work a yard of space from his marker and tried to beat Pope at his near post. The Magpies’ keeper got down to make a decent save to deny him. It was a positive start from The Foxes, something the home faithful were not used to seeing.
All that positivity was undone moments later as the visitors played their way through Leicester far too easily. Joelinton worked the ball to Barnes, who teased The Foxes’ defence. He waited for Livramento to get forward on the overlap, before feeding it into his path. His ball into the back post found Murphy, who slotted home to silence the King Power stadium.
It was all too easy for Eddie Howe’s side. The Magpies were not the only team to display this against Leicester this season. Despite winning the Championship last campaign, this squad was a million miles away from the required levels of Premier League football. Every week was like an FA Cup tie that was a complete mismatch between two teams from very different ends of the footballing pyramid.
Confidence can be a very fragile trait. The Foxes were severely lacking and after the opening goal, they crumbled like the ruins Pompeii. As they lost the ball in the Newcastle half, Schar spotted Hermansen a long way from his goal. The defender tried an audacious effort to loft it over him, the keeper scrambled back but was unable to get anywhere near it.
As he ended up in the back of the net, Schar’s effort came crashing back off the crossbar. Murphy was the only player gambling on a rebound and neatly slotted it home to double the visitors’ lead. With only eleven minutes having passed, the comeback seemed beyond van Nistelrooy’s side. The home fans were making their discontent known as boos rang out.
At times this campaign it has looked like a featherweight boxer going toe to toe with the world heavyweight champion. As much as they throw their punches, it is having no effect on their opponents. While the fans voiced their anger, you wonder what they were expecting from this squad severely lacking in Premier League talent.
The closest Leicester came to scoring was when El Khannouss drove forward. Some good footwork saw him get a shot away but Pope made a smart save to turn it over the crossbar. By this stage it was like a library at the King Power. Seats were emptying as it seemed The Foxes’ fans could not bare anymore of this constant torture at this level.
Isak started to cause problems for the hosts but his shot was blocked and broke to Joelinton. He checked onto his right foot to get an effort away but Hermansen made a smart save. Sadly for Leicester, Barnes was following up to tap home the rebound into an empty net. This was men against boys and was a painful watch for their long-suffering fans.
For the majority of the second-half you could be forgiven for thinking that the country had gone into lockdown again. However, if your aim was to see what the King Power stadium looked like with no fans in it, this encounter was right up your street. Newcastle were in complete control of the game and The Foxes were struggling to land a single punch on them.
Schar was keen to get himself on the scoresheet as he tried his luck from distance once again. Hermansen parried the effort and was able to regather. The Magpies looked as though they had taken their foot off the gas and were already seeing this game as won. They were able to rotate the side and rest some of their key players.
The closest van Nistelrooy’s side came to a goal was when Faes met a corner at the near post. His glancing header narrowly missed the far post but was as good as it got for The Foxes. It was another humbling defeat that further underpinned that this side are not ready to mix it up at this level. If they were an animal, somebody would have had the empathy to have put them out of their misery long ago.
Newcastle moved into fourth spot in the table and now have their European ambitions firmly in their own grasp. Should they manage to secure Champions League qualification this campaign, it would be a season to remember for the fans. Winning the Carabao Cup was one thing but ensuring they are playing in Europe’s elite competition next season would serve as the perfect icing on the cake.
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