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Leicester City 5-0 Newcastle United: Jamie Vardy scores twice in easy win


Since the start of last season, Newcastle midfielder Isaac Hayden is the only player to have been shown more than one straight red card in the Premier League

Leicester City’s impressive start to the season under Brendan Rodgers continued with a thumping win which left woeful Newcastle anchored in the relegation zone.

Ricardo Pereira’s outstanding low finish set Leicester on their way before Newcastle were reduced to 10 men shortly before half-time after Isaac Hayden’s terrible challenge on Dennis Praet.

Leicester made the extra man count with three goals in 10 second-half minutes.

Jamie Vardy beat Martin Dubravka at his near post to double the lead and, after Paul Dummett had deflected Praet’s cross into his own net to make it 3-0, headed the fourth.

On a miserable day for Newcastle, Wilfred Ndidi added a late fifth goal with a shot on the turn.

Leicester move back up to third in the table, where they started the weekend, after a fourth win in five league and cup games.

Rodgers’ side are two points off second-placed Manchester City and seven behind leaders Liverpool, who they visit next Saturday.

Leicester thriving under Rodgers

Rodgers will have a spring in his step when he makes his first return to Anfield since being sacked by Liverpool in 2015.

This was Leicester’s 10th – and almost certainly easiest – top-flight win in 18 games since they announced the appointment of the Northern Irishman in February.

“I’ll give my life to make the supporters proud of this club,” said Rodgers on the day he was unveiled as Leicester’s fourth permanent boss in 23 months.

Rejuvenated and full of energy, they have been transformed by the former Celtic manager who took over a team drained of confidence and starved of wins seven months ago.

Only Manchester City and Liverpool have accumulated more points than Leicester in the Premier League since Rodgers’ appointment, and Newcastle can count themselves fortunate not to have been on the end of an even heavier drubbing.

Leicester produced a clinical performance and scored from all five of their shots on target.

Portugal defender Pereira’s second goal in as many top-flight games set the tone for an utterly dominant performance – the former Porto player starting the move inside his own half before finishing after a neat one-two with former Newcastle player Ayoze Perez.

After Hayden’s red card, Leicester swarmed their opponents yet Dubravka should have kept out Vardy’s first goal.

Dummett’s own goal added to Newcastle’s woes yet Leicester were not done as Vardy was left unmarked to make it 4-0 with a close-range header before Ndidi piled on the embarrassment for the visitors.

Problems mounting for Bruce

Newcastle started the weekend in 17th spot but end it rooted in the bottom three after a spineless performance devoid of fight and character.

Steve Bruce talked about “a huge challenge” when he was appointed head coach in the summer yet, just seven games in, the problems are piling up.

Bruce already knew before this game his side had serious issues in front of goal after scoring just four times in six matches. Not only did they fail to find the net against Leicester, they did not muster a single shot on target.

Hayden did his side no favours with his out-of-control challenge, while Dubravka’s failure to stop Vardy from scoring Leicester’s second left the visitors demoralised with more than half an hour remaining.

While Perez – Newcastle’s leading scorer in the Premier League last season – is thriving at Leicester, the goals have dried up for the Magpies.

They invested a club record £40m in the summer to sign Brazilian striker Joelinton yet he has found the net once, as many times as Netherlands defender Jetro Willems who joined on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Day to forget for Bruce – the stats

  • This was Steve Bruce’s joint-heaviest defeat in the Premier League, alongside losing 2-7 v Chelsea in January 2010 and 0-5 v Manchester City in April 2011 as Sunderland manager.
  • Newcastle failed to land a shot on target in a Premier League game for the first time since December 2018.
  • Since Brendan Rodgers’ first match with Leicester, Jamie Vardy has scored more Premier League goals than any other player (14 goals, 17 appearances).
  • Isaac Hayden’s red card was the 52nd occasion on which Bruce has seen one of his players dismissed in the Premier League. Only former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger (78) has seen more of his players sent off in the competition.

What’s next?

Leicester now begin preparing for next Saturday’s game at Premier League leaders Liverpool (15:00 BST) – Rodgers’ first return to Anfield since he was sacked by the Reds in 2015. Newcastle are at home to Manchester United next Sunday (16:30 BST) – the final Premier League game before the international break.





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