Newcastle Toons
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Newcastle United fall at home to Leicester City

By Durim Halimi

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 29: Jamie Vardy of Leicester City scores the opening goal from a penalty during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Leicester City at St. James Park on September 29, 2018 in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 29: Jamie Vardy of Leicester City scores the opening goal from a penalty during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Leicester City at St. James Park on September 29, 2018 in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images) /
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Newcastle United failed to secure any points at home after losing 2-0 to Leicester City.

Newcastle United were hoping to claim their first victory of the season today against Leicester City, instead they were handed their fifth loss of the season. Poor defending in the penalty area gifted Leicester City with two goals in this affair – a penalty from Jamie Vardy and a header from Harry Maguire.

Newcastle showed that they could compete with Leicester City, but they lacked consistency. Leicester City displayed good composure for most the match and this earned the Foxes a positive result on the road.

First Half

The first 45 minutes of action were relatively quiet for both sides. Leicester City went into the break with a 1-0 lead from Jamie Vardy’s penalty kick, but neither side really got going. Newcastle had three shot attempts in the first half, with Mohamed Diame having the best chance to score from a header that went just wide of the goal.

Joselu received a brilliant pass from Ayoze Perez, but the striker held on to the ball too long and lost it in front of goal. He had two options – shoot it two seconds early or pass it off to Matt Ritchie cutting in the box. Leicester City played with more composure in the first half and they made the most of their possession (62%) to create seven shot attempts with four being on target.

Newcastle showed that they can break Leicester City’s back-line down on multiple occasions, but it was poor execution from the Magpies that made life easy for the Foxes. Overall, the first half was more competitive than what the statistics would make one believe.

Second Half

Newcastle started the second half of the match well by playing with offensive urgency. The high pressure from the Magpies disrupted Leicester City’s composure from the first half and forced the Foxes to make multiple mistakes in the back.

Leicester City did not collapse though and they found ways to mitigate the impact of Newcastle’s momentum by earning more corner kicks which forced the Magpies to bring more bodies back. The 63rd minute of the match was interesting as it marked a rare moment of the Toon Army expressing their displeasure with Rafa Benitez, who decided to replace the hard-working Matt Ritchie with Jacob Murphy.

Newcastle then spent most of the second half chasing the ball at the feet of Leicester City’s players. The 73rd minute of the match witnessed yet another corner kick for the Foxes, but this time Harry Maguire made Newcastle suffer with a powerful header to extend his team’s lead.

Newcastle never recovered after Maguire’s header and the silence across St. James’ Park was a reflection of that. Newcastle were hopeful of a positive result today at home, but Leicester outplayed the Magpies on the road.

What’s Next?

After being handed their fifth defeat of the season, life will not get any easier for Newcastle as they have to travel to Old Trafford to face an angry Manchester United. Of all the standard top six members, Manchester United are the most vulnerable, but Newcastle lack the quality and confidence to expose the Red Devils’ weaknesses. All Newcastle can do is play with amnesia after losing to Leicester City at home.