Ayoze Perez lifts Newcastle 10 points clear of bottom three

Newcastle United managed to maintain their Premier League status for next season after defeating Leicester City 1-0.

After two consecutive defeats last week, Newcastle United turned things around with an impressive 1-0 victory at the King Power Stadium. Leicester City dominated the possession stat, but the Magpies created some good chances and Ayoze Perez’s goal was sufficient to take home all three points. Four matches remain this season, but Newcastle have surely maintained their Premier League status for next season.

First Half

Both teams got off to solid starts in this match. Jamaal Lascelles’s header in the first minute of action gave Newcastle a shot on goal and Jamie Vardy tested Martin Dubravka a minute later with an acrobatic volley.

Salomon Rondon had the next best chance in the match as he shook the crossbar with a powerful free kick from distance. Had the shot been two inches lower, the Magpies would have been celebrating by the corner flag.

Newcastle had another great chance to score when Miguel Almiron was wide open in the box, but Matt Ritchie chose to look for Rondon instead. Almiron did get another good look at goal a minute later when he curled a shot around defenders, but the lack of power behind the shot led to an easy save.

Leicester City created an impressive scoring opportunity when they woke up in 27th minute as Harvey Barnes ran in the box with plenty of pace, but a shoulder save from Dubravka kept the scoreline 0-0.

The Toon Army raised the roof in the King Power Stadium in the 32nd minute when Ayoze Perez scored a brilliant header to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Ritchie delivered a quick cross and Perez put enough power in his header to send the ball in the side netting.

Newcastle almost added a second goal just two minutes later when Almiron fired a curling shot on target, but Kasper Schmeichel managed to make a quick diving safe in the bottom corner. That was the last real chance in a half where Leicester City dominated possession, but Newcastle created better chances.

Second Half

Almiron picked up right where he left off as he continued to cause problems for Leicester City’s back-line in the opening minutes of the second half. The Paraguayan blew past everyone to run inside the box and earned a corner kick in the 50th minute. A minute later Perez and Almiron both mistimed their volleys after Rondon delivered the perfect cross from the wing.

30 seconds later, Almiron received a quick pass in the box, but his powerful attempt was blocked before it could even test the keeper. Newcastle looked lively and one could sense the nerves among the home supporters. These nerves were also felt on the pitch as the foul count rose dramatically in a short period of time.

Newcastle had a golden chance to double their lead through Almiron in the 58th minute. Fabian Schar pressed forward, dribbled around two defenders and found Almiron open at the edge of the box, but the Paraguayan star missed the target. The Foxes came close to equalizing in the 61st minute through Jamie Vardy, but the former England striker could not get his head on the end of a curling cross.

The next big chance of the match came in the 76th minute when Perez dribbled his way around a defender in impressive fashion, but Schmeichel had the last word by running out to trap the ball. Both teams showed good urgency in the second half, but Newcastle kept attacking and this constant pressure visibly tired Leicester City out. With this victory, Newcastle move ten points clear of the drop zone with four matches left on the schedule.