A victory that was so easy for Newcastle United the match barely represented a competitive fixture. Eddie Howe’s side did not even play well and were still far too good for a woeful Leicester City.
They will not be worried about that. The victory moved them level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea, with a game in hand, and Eddie Howe’s side are showing Champions League-qualifying form. Secure a place at European football’s top table, on top of winning their first domestic trophy for 70 years in the Carabao Cup, and this will be the club’s best season in living memory.
This, though, was more about how bad their opponents were and how much longer Leicester City’s owners are going to put up with manager Ruud van Nistelrooy delivering this standard of football.
There are a lot of words you can use to describe Leicester’s evening. A few choice ones will do. It was an abject humiliation, an embarrassing capitulation and about as gutless and as clueless a performance as you are likely to see at this level.
Newcastle were professional but far from scintillating. They did not have to be anywhere near it and still cruised into a 3-0 lead before half-time and then saw the game out with ease.
That should be of real concern from a Leicester perspective. But it is the statistics that damn Van Nistelrooy. He has now lost 16 of his 20 games in all competitions and has not picked up three points in the league – one of only two Premier League wins – since a shock away victory at Tottenham Hotspur in January.
He is the first Leicester City manager to lose 11 home games in the Premier League era and has gone more than 12 hours without seeing his team score in front of their own supporters, a drought spanning eight games. It secures him an unwanted and deeply depressing top-flight record. The eight successive home defeats also match the Premier League record set by former Norwich City manager Daniel Farke. There is no reason to believe this miserable run will end with the Dutchman in charge. He is surely fighting to save his job, but only the board will know whether they still have confidence in him to lead the team in the Championship next season – because that is where they are heading.
Asked if he was worried about his job, the Dutchman said: “It’s difficult, you come here to do well and work with great people at this football club and the players. Of course, when you can’t get results it’s very disappointing. The intent has always been there to bring the club forward. The club is the most important thing and what is best for the club, you always have to consider.
“This is a difficult night, especially with the form we are in. It is important to analyse this, sleep on it and recover. That is it for now. There are no questions, it is about dealing with this setback, another one. For now, that is all I can say.”
Van Nistelrooy’s face said it all. Seconds after Jacob Murphy had given Newcastle the lead, tapping home at the far post after a lovely move down the left ...
