Newcastle United ran riot against Leicester City at St James' Park this afternoon, earning a 4-0 victory thanks to goals from Jacob Murphy (2), Bruno Guimarães, and Alexander Isak.
It could have been an even larger margin of victory for Eddie Howe's side, with Isak, Murphy, and others all missing presentable chances against Ruud van Nistelrooy's lacklustre Foxes.
There were good and great performances all over the park for the Magpies, with Lewis Hall, Dan Burn, Anthony Gordon, and Sandro Tonali catching the eye in addition to the scorers.
Here's how we saw it from Martin Dúbravka through to nervy match referee Tom Bramall, with a glut of 8s and 9s in a much-needed positive 90 minutes at Gallowgate.
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George Wood/Getty Images
Two of the big contenders for today's Man of the Match award combined for our crucial third goal
The Good
Eddie Howe deserves a lot of credit for helping the players bounce back in such a convincing fashion after the second-half surrender at Brentford last week. There were signs of nerves in the early going, but by the end, this was a thoroughly deserved emphatic victory for the head coach. It sets us up beautifully for another two massive matches to come.
We had an abundance of choices for the man of the match this week, which doesn't often happen, but we have to give the nod to Lewis Hall. The young left-back got two assists, won 7/10 duels, and had an enormous 108 touches, completing 86% of his 85 attempted passes. He also made the joint most defensive interventions in a smashing all-round display.
Anthony Gordon ran his England teammate close with a dynamic showing off the left wing. The Scouser was involved in all four goals to varying degrees, with his directness giving his opposite number James Justin nightmares in the first half in particular. His work rate was as good as it has been all season, too, and he led the press with gusto from the first whistle.
Although he missed a huge one-on-one in the first half, Alexander Isak made amends with one of the simplest goals he'll ever score to make it 3-0 early in the second period. In addition to this, he put two big chances on a plate for Murphy, tortured Leicester's defenders when allowed to turn and run at them, and generally just led the line marvellously.
Jacob Murphy had us tearing our hair out in the early part of the match but turned it around with two lovely goals. We'll not dwell on his misses too much, as the side-footed effort he scored to put us 1-0 up was a thing of beauty. His low, driven finish for our fourth was equally as good, too, and he deserves credit for always being in the right place at the right time.
Dan Burn and Sandro Tonali were the foundation upon which the win was built, with our big number 33 imperious at the back against the fleet-footed Jamie Vardy. He probably should have scored in the first half, mind, like some others. As for Tonali, he ran things from the number six position and looks a different player in that role. There's surely more to come, too.
Of the remaining defenders, Tino Livramento and Fabian Schär put in solid shifts without being excellent. Tino's end product continues to frustrate, while Schär's distribution is getting worse rather than better. Still, they each handled the defensive part of the contest with ease and barely gave the opposition a sniff.
Finally, Bruno Guimarães squeezes into this section thanks to his goal, as his overall display was far from the level required of him, while Joelinton was largely decent without being his usual beastly self. He eventually succumbed to suspension for an accumulation of yellows, too, for a tackle that was never a booking in a million years. He'll miss the Ipswich league game, not the Brentford cup game.
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Serena Taylor/Newcastle United
This fella was very much going to be in the 'Bad' section until his brace after some hideous misses
The Bad
We know they've got injuries, but Leicester City were comfortably the worst team we've seen at Gallowgate this season. It's a shame we can't play them every week.
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0 Joelinton
Serena Taylor/Newcastle United
Joelinton will be a miss away at Ipswich next weekend, but at least Joe Willock is available again
The Average
Martin Dúbravka could hardly have asked for an easier reintroduction to first-team football, could he? The Slovakian only had to make a solitary save, with Leicester failing to create a chance worthy of the name in the match.
Match referee Tom Bramall looked like a rabbit in the headlights at times, but apart from the Joelinton yellow card decision he didn't get too much wrong. If the officiating was of this bang-average standard every week we'd be happy campers. Well, less miserable campers at least...
Kieran Trippier, Harvey Barnes, and Sean Longstaff arrived from the bench shortly after the hour mark with the game done and dusted, but Barnes in particular seemed intent on trying to get himself a goal. Trippier looked sharp, which was nice to see. We have a feeling his story here isn't done just yet.
Will Osula and Joe Willock completed the changes from the bench, with Osula showing why he hasn't been given more minutes with a raw showing. He had a hard act to follow after that Isak performance, mind!
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0 Team
Serena Taylor/Newcastle United
You know it's been a good afternoon when all ten of the outfield starters make it into the 'Good' section
The Breakdown
Here are the scores on the doors, with a high of 9 and a low of 2:
The XI
Martin Dúbravka – 6
Tino Livramento – 7 (off 64')
Fabian Schär – 7
Dan Burn – 8
Lewis Hall – 9 ⭐️
Bruno Guimarães (c) – 7 (off 64')
Sandro Tonali – 8
Joelinton – 7
Jacob Murphy – 8 (off 64')
Alexander Isak – 9 (off 73')
Anthony Gordon – 9 (off 81')
The Subs
Kieran Trippier – 6 (on 64')
Harvey Barnes – 6 (on 64')
Sean Longstaff – 6 (on 64')
Will Osula – 6 (on 73')
Joe Willock – 6 (on 81')
The Gaffer
Eddie Howe – 9
The Opposition
Leicester – 2
The Ref
Tom Bramall – 6
0 Fans
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We are just three matches away from seeing scenes like this at Wembley again; Wednesday is huge
The Next
It's Carabao Cup quarter-final time on Tyneside, with Brentford the visitors to St James' Park on Wednesday evening for a 7.45 p.m. (GMT) kick-off that will be shown live on Sky.
If we can build upon today and progress to the semi-final then either Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Southampton, Liverpool, Tottenham, or Manchester United will be waiting for us.
This could still be the year it finally happens. Howay the lads!