Late resurgence from Newcastle not enough against Leicester City

Newcastle United suffered their seventh defeat of the season after losing 2-1 to Leicester City.

Newcastle United deployed the same pressure-centric tactics they used in their 0-0 draw against Liverpool when they hosted Leicester City today, but the outcome was different.

Both teams were level at the half (0-0) and it was a proper reflection of the balanced performance on the pitch, but Leicester City turned up the heat in the second half with two stunning goals from James Maddison (55’) and Youri Tielemans (72’).

Newcastle United made a few changes and placed more emphasis on orchestrating a comeback after going down by two, and substitute Andy Carroll pulled one back for the home side in the 82nd minute to spice up the storyline.

Newcastle United went on to dominate the final five minutes of the game, completed some clever passes, delivered some quality balls into the box, but the end product was lacking.

Neither team truly dominated the affair, but Leicester City made the most of their opportunities in front of goal, and they also did well in containing the Magpies’ leading scorer Callum Wilson (eight goals on the season).

Final Word

Newcastle United played with a high level of urgency on both ends of the pitch, which is something fans appreciate, but the creativity in the final third was lacking today.

The Magpies did well to string together some impressive passes in the middle of the park, and they managed to spread the ball around the pitch with ease and precision, but indecisiveness and poor touches near goal cost them this game.

Leicester City were sound and confrontational defensively, which made it difficult for the Toon to develop any rhythm, but Newcastle United should have done better to create more chances. Seven shot attempts at home simply is not enough.