Newcastle United finally got back to wining ways with a scintillating 4-0 victory over Leicester City on Saturday.
Pressure was mounting on Eddie Howe after winning just twice in the last 11 fixtures and with the Carabao Cup quarter-final coming up on Wednesday, a victory was vital against relegation-threatened Leicester.
Newcastle United have struggled against smaller sides this season but had no such trouble this time as they came flying out of the traps, with Anthony Gordon dangerous from the off.
After wasting two great chances, Jacob Murphy found the opener from Gordon’s cut back but Newcastle should have been much further ahead than they were at the break.
However, it took just four minutes of the second half for that to change when Bruno Guimaraes nodded in Lewis Hall’s header across goal and Alexander Isak then scored with his own head to make it three.
A relentless Magpies tore through a hapless Leicester time and again and notched up a fourth when Murphy fired into the bottom corner to finally earn Isak an assist.
Here’s how the players rated on a wonderful day for Newcastle.
Alexander Isak of Newcastle United celebrates scoring his team's third goal with teammates during the Premier League match between Newcastle United...
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
Martin Dubravka – 7
In for the injured Nick Pope and couldn’t have hoped for an easier afternoon. He had absolutely nothing to do.
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Tino Livramento – 7
It’s been a difficult few weeks for Tino Livramento and in Stephy Mavididi he had another tough challenge on his hands but he handled the speedster well.
Fabian Schar – 7
The usually troublesome Jamie Vardy was reduced to feeding off scraps after being well-marshalled by Fabian Schar but didn’t have much actual defending to do.
Dan Burn – 8
A real threat in the opposite box with two good chances and he knew he should have done a lot better with one header he sent over the bar. Good defending to cut out the rare Leicester approaches on goal.
Lewis Hall – 9
A fantastic performance at both ends of the pitch. Hall made a couple of important challenges to end threatening attacks and got forward well throughout, providing the overlap that allowed Gordon to drive inside.
Linked up well with the winger throughout and set up two goals in four minutes after the break, one with his head and one with a cross that was deflected into Isak’s path.
Sandro Tonali – 8
Some sloppy passing initially on his return to the starting XI but he recovered to deliver a classy performance in a week where Sandro Tonali’s future at St. James’ Park has come into doubt. He crafted the short corner routine well to play Gordon in for his assist.
Worked very hard to ensure Newcastle dominated the game in the middle of the park and nearly scored a fantastic volley.
Bruno Guimaraes – 8
All action with some full-blooded tackles, a wide range of passing and nodded in the second goal just after the break to vanish any possible nerves. A captain’s display, other than making the weird decision to dive when in a good position while the game was still tight.
Joelinton – 7
Powerful in the middle with strong running, positive forward passing and several rasping efforts from distance that got the crowd excited. Looks much better in midfield than on the wing. Picked up a silly yellow which means he will miss the next fixture against Ipswich.
Jacob Murphy – 8
It may be harsh to criticize a player who got two goals but some of Jacob Murphy’s finishing in this game was almost impressive by how terrible it was. He sent two great chances wide in the first half and could have scored three set up by Isak alone.
Yet, he found the net twice to make up for all those missed opportunities.
Murphy opened the scoring with an accurate finish through a forest of legs when it would have been easy to sky the shot and then finally earned Isak an assist with an emphatic finish after the Swede put it on a plate for him again.
It worked out in the end but he won’t get so many chances against a team even slightly less open.
Alexander Isak – 9.5
When Isak is in full flow there aren’t many players more exciting to watch in the Premier League. Be it dropping deep to ping the ball across the pitch and play others in behind or taking the ball himself, he was sensational once again against Leicester.
The way Isak glides past defenders with ease and leaves them in his dust with a sudden burst of pace is majestic.
Two such exhilarating runs that exploited the defence with surgical precision should have earned him assists if Murphy had his shooting boots on earlier but he finally got it on the third time of cutting through the defence and finding the winger in acres of space on the right.
The striker did Squander one great chance you’d bet the house on him to finish in the first half but nodded in the third to put the game beyond doubt.
Anthony Gordon – 10
Anthony Gordon set the tempo immediately by forcing the goalkeeper into a sublime save and he didn’t relent. The winger was a constant menace to James Justin and delivered a steady stream of dangerous crosses into the box.
It was no surprise when he set up the opener with a well-worked short corner routine and he had a big hand in the next two goals with a fantastic free-kick delivery and a nice pass to Hall. His interplay with the left-back was thrilling to witness and the foundation for the dominant win.
Substitutes
Harvey Barnes – 7
Looked motivated to earn a starting spot for the quarter-final and put in a lot of effort to score himself despite the game being won.
Sean Longstaff – 6
Saw the game out well on his 200th appearance and ensured there were no late slip ups.
Kieran Trippier – 7
Wasted no time in getting involved in the attacks and played some incisive passes to keep the pressure on the struggling Foxes.
William Osula – 6
First appearance for a month and a good opportunity in a low-pressure environment. Managed to play one nice through balls for Barnes.
Joe Willock – 6
Got to play the last 10 minutes on his return from injury.
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