Saturday afternoon’s match ended Newcastle 4 Leicester 0.
Ahead of each match we ask one of our writers to come up with three positives and three negatives following the game.
Plenty to talk about after this one…
On this occasion it is The Armchair Fan:
Newcastle played out an absolute hammering of Leicester City on Saturday afternoon with their best display of the season easily putting the foxes to the sword.
NUFC were by far the better team throughout and could have been racking up double figures by the end.
Now I have two of the hardest jobs possible:
Firstly, I have to single out just three positives from such a superb performance, when I could write about a dozen.
Secondly, I then have to come up with three negatives when I can barely think of one!
Here goes:
POSITIVES
What a result!
It’s been a while since we absolutely stuffed a team but this was definitely a very well-deserved result and an impressive plus four goal difference to go with it.
Football is a results business and that was our best of the season by far.
There’s no reason why we can’t go on to muscle our way into the top six and the semi-final of the League Cup over the next few weeks and this match could provide the perfect springboard for this success.
Perfect Performance
Newcastle played brilliantly and looked up for this one from the off. Everyone had a good game and not one player was off the pace.
This was a perfect team performance where things just clicked and we were the far better team in every area of the pitch.
Isak looking menacing, Murphy amongst the goals, Hall an absolute beast and Gordon running at the defence, are all very welcome sights.
Well worth the win which was fully deserved. Play like that and we can be a match for anyone.
Goals, goals, goals!
Every time Newcastle went forward, we looked like scoring and four goals was the very least we deserved.
Football is a very simple game and the only objective is to put the ball in the net.
Long may this continue!
Newcastle United Team Dressing Room Celebration
NEGATIVES
Joelinton booking
A booking for Joelinton means he’ll now miss an equally important match next weekend away at Ipswich.
Frustratingly, his fifth booking of the season came at a time when we were already 4-0 up and making subs. Hooking him off at that point would have been ideal and kept him available for the next game.
Callum Wilson
Going into this one, I had high hopes of a triumphant return to the starting line-up for Wilson. When he plays, he scores goals and takes some of the pressure off Isak.
Unfortunately, we’ve had the news that he’ll be out for months with yet another injury. Not the lad’s fault at all and not a criticism, just a deeply frustrating situation for everyone concerned.
Inconsistency
Going into this one we’d only won twice in the past eleven Premier League matches. We’ve been way too inconsistent this season and struggled to string good performances together.
We need to put that right starting this week with wins against Brentford in the cup and Ipswitch in the league to get our season back on track going into the new year.
The league is tight enough for anyone in mid-table to climb it over Christmas and cup ties at home to both Brentford and Bromley offer opportunities for progression in both competitions.
The most important few weeks of our season are now upon us and a run of wins would do very nicely indeed.
Newcastle 4 Leicester 0 – Saturday 14 December 3pm
(Stats via BBC Sport)
Goals:
Newcastle United :
Murphy 30, 60 Bruno 47 Isak 50
Leicester:
Possession was Newcastle 60% Leicester 40%
Total shots were Newcastle 27 Leicester 4
Shots on target were Newcastle 11 Leicester 1
Corners were Newcastle 5 Leicester 2
Touches in the box Newcastle 53 Leicester 9
Newcastle team v Leicester:
Dubravka, Livramento (Trippier 65), Schar, Burn, Hall, Tonali, Bruno (Longstaff 65), Joelinton, Murphy (Barnes 65), Isak (Osula 73), Gordon (Willock 81)
Unused Subs:
Vlachodimos, Targett, Almiron, Kelly
(Newcastle 4 Leicester 0 – Match ratings and comments on all Newcastle United players – Read HERE)
(BBC Sport comments from ‘neutrals’ – Very interesting on Newcastle United after win v Leicester – Read HERE)
(Newcastle 4 Leicester 0 – Instant Newcastle United fan/writer reaction – Read HERE)
(Newcastle 4 Leicester 0 – If his next outing proves just as easy, United should be playing in the League Cup semi-finals again – Read HERE)
Newcastle United upcoming matches:
Wednesday 18 December – Newcastle v Brentford (7.45pm) Sky Sports+ (Carabao Cup)
Saturday 21 December – Ipswich v Newcastle (3pm)
Thursday 26 December – Newcastle v Villa (3pm) Amazon
Monday 30 December – Man U v Newcastle (8pm) Sky Sports
Saturday 4 January – Tottenham v Newcastle (12.30pm) TNT Sports
Sunday 12 January – Newcastle v Bromley (3pm) BBC iPlayer (FA Cup)
Wednesday 15 January – Newcastle v Wolves (7.30pm) TNT Sports
Saturday 18 January – Newcastle v Bournemouth (12.30pm) TNT Sports
Saturday 25 January – Southampton v Newcastle (3pm)
Saturday 1 February – Newcastle v Fulham (3pm)
Saturday 15 February – Man City v Newcastle (3pm)
Sunday 23 February – Newcastle v Forest (Time TBC) Sky Sports