Ten-man Newcastle United began 2020 with a defeat as Leicester City ran out 3-0 winners at St. James’ Park on New Year’s Day.
Former United forward Ayoze Pérez opened the scoring for Brendan Rodgers’ side on 36 minutes after capitalising on a defensive error, before James Maddison’s thunderbolt made it two moments later.
The Magpies lost Jetro Willems, Javier Manquillo and Jonjo Shelvey to injury before Fabian Schär had to be withdrawn hurt just after the restart, leaving Steve Bruce’s side a man light for the majority of the second half.
And substitute Hamza Choudhury’s late strike completed the scoring, firing home from the edge of the box to clinch the win for the Foxes.
Leicester, on their second visit to St. James’ this season after August’s Carabao Cup meeting, threatened first. The influential Maddison’s corner found Jonny Evans, who tested Martin Dúbravka’s reactions. After turning away Ben Chilwell’s cross-shot, the United stopper then parried Youri Tielemans’ low drive, and Schär was able to hook it away with Pérez lurking.
It was a signal of the danger posed by the visitors, even without their talisman Jamie Vardy, but Newcastle remained firmly in the game at that stage. Schär called Kasper Schmeichel into action from range before their best opening fell at the feet of Joelinton. Beating the offside trap to sprint onto Shelvey’s fine through ball, the Brazilian saw his first effort blocked by the onrushing Foxes keeper, and seemed to lose his footing as he tried to direct the loose ball goalwards with his head.
That was as good as the first half got for the hosts, as Leicester took full advantage of some errors at the back. Florian Lejeune’s pass was intercepted by Pérez, who cut inside Schär and found the far corner, becoming the first former Magpies player to net against his old club for almost two years.
And within three minutes, it was two. Lejeune’s loose clearance was picked up by Ricardo Pereira on the right before Pérez helped it into Maddison’s path. From there, the former Norwich schemer was clinical, blasting an unstoppable effort beyond Dúbravka and into the top right-hand corner of the goal.
Bruce’s side’s task looked even greater before the break when they lost both Willems and Manquillo to injury. DeAndre Yedlin and Emil Krafth were introduced from the bench, before Shelvey was withdrawn for Sean Longstaff at half time in the hosts’ final change.
Within five minutes of the restart, the Magpies were reduced to ten men. Schär had to be taken off injured, too, and within a few minutes Maddison had tried his luck once more from similar range, with Dúbravka doing well to hold the fierce attempt.
Dúbravka excelled again on the hour. A Leicester break, led by Pérez, culminated in Kelechi Iheanacho stinging his palms, before Newcastle’s custodian reacted well to the follow up – a volley from his old teammate – and got back up to help avert another effort on goal.
Foxes substitute Demarai Gray miscued from a Pereira cutback as the visitors controlled much of the ball during a low-key finale, which ended with Choudhury’s strike cannoning off the underside of the crossbar and in to make it 3-0 to Rodgers’ men on a miserable afternoon for United.
