Ruud van Nistelrooy’s unbeaten run as Leicester City manager came to an end as his side were heavily beaten by Newcastle United.
A Jacob Murphy brace was also added to by goals from Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak as the hosts dominated at St James’ Park.
Some Leicester fans felt Guimaraes should’ve been sent off in the first half but even still, it would’ve done little to change the Foxes’ fortunes around.
There was some disappointing displays from Leicester players all across the pitch, but there will be one stat that will leave Van Nistelrooy less than impressed.
Leicester midfield duo take 60 minutes to make a tackle
With Boubakary Soumare, Wilfred Ndidi and Harry Winks all absent for the Foxes, the chance was there for Hamza Choudhury and Oliver Skipp to impress and show they are also worthy of a starting role.
Hamza Choudhury of Leicester City during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Leicester City at St James' Park on December 14, 202...
Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images
Instead, the two were among the worst on the pitch for the East Midlanders, as proved by one stat.
It took until the hour mark for either one of Skipp or Choudhury to make a tackle in the game as they were overran in midfield and failed to get control at all.
Always going to be a difficult task with no Soumare, Ndidi or Winks in midfield. But Skipp and Choudhury completing 0 tackles in an hour of football in a game like this is hard to defend.
Haven’t covered themselves in glory. #LCFC
— Josh Holland (@_joshhollandd) December 14, 2024
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Choudhury was hooked and with youngster Henry Cartwright the only other option on the bench, Van Nistelrooy will be hoping some of his key first-teamers will return for the crunch game against Wolves next week.
Oliver Skipp of Leicester City with Bruno Guimarães of Newcastle United during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Leicester City...
Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images
Hamza Choudhury and Oliver Skipp’s Leicester City performance in numbers
According to Sofascore, Skipp and Choudhury were among two of the worst players in the Foxes’ side at St James’ Park on Saturday.
Skipp was handed a 6.2 rating whereas the Leicester academy graduate received a 6.5 rating before being replace by Caleb Okoli.
Stats Oliver Skipp Hamza Choudhury
Minutes played 94 59
Tackles 1 0
Ground duels won 1/2 1/3
Aerial duels won 1/1 0
Sofascore rating 6.2 6.5
Given that Soumare will be back from suspension next week and there’s hope that Winks will also be back in contention, it would be no surprise to see a new central midfield duo deployed next week.
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