Leicester 5-0 Newcastle report, Premier League highlights and stats: Jamie Vardy nets double in thrashing of 10-man Magpies
Jamie Vardy bagged a second-half brace as Leicester climbed to third in the Premier League by crushing 10-man Newcastle 5-0 to turn up the heat on Steve Bruce.
The Foxes were on top from the moment Ricardo Pereira opened the scoring just after a quarter of an hour but Isaac Hayden's red card on the stroke of half-time was the catalyst for the floodgates to open after the interval.
Vardy was the principle beneficiary as he found the net twice, either side of Paul Dummett's unfortunate own goal, before Wilfred Ndidi struck late on as Leicester claimed their fourth win from their last five top-flight matches.
Leicester have been tipped to break into the top-six this season and, though stiffer tests await, they were ruthless against the only side to defeat them at home since Brendan Rodgers took charge in February.
Much has changed for Newcastle since a 1-0 win on their last visit to the King Power Stadium, not least that their goal-scorer in that fixture, Ayoze Perez, now plays for Leicester following a £30million summer switch.
The forward made a bright start in the pouring rain and had a hand in Portuguese full-back Pereira's opener, playing his part in Newcastle sinking to their fourth defeat in seven fixtures, keeping them second bottom in the standings and leading to further scrutiny of Bruce's position.
Perez had an opportunity to silence the travelling supporters who jeered his name as the teams were announced but the Spaniard shot tamely at Martin Dubravka after a cut back from Harvey Barnes in the first couple of minutes.
However, after Yoshinori Muto got his legs in a tangle trying to make contact with Hayden's cross-cum-shot in a rare sight at goal for Newcastle, Perez played a minor role in Leicester's 16-minute opener.
Having exchanged passes with the summer signing on halfway, Pereira took advantage of Newcastle's defence backing away to drive towards the edge of the area before drilling a low effort with his weaker left foot beyond Dubravka.
Ben Chilwell could have doubled Leicester's lead moments later but Dubravka got a hand to his attempted dink before the England full-back saw his follow-up cleared off the line by Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles.
Newcastle had beaten Leicester on their last two visits to the midlands but hopes of a hat-trick receded when Hayden was given a straight red card for a reckless follow through on Dennis Praet in a 50-50 challenge.
While the midfielder protested referee Craig Pawson's decision, with Lascelles having to lead his team-mate down the tunnel, replays showed his contact with Praet's standing leg was high despite winning the ball.
The dismissal prompted Newcastle head coach Steve Bruce to bring on midfielder Ki Sung-Yeung for Muto and the visitors retreated further into their shell.
They fell further behind in the 54th minute when Vardy's first-time strike from an acute angle squeezed underneath Dubravka, who was beaten far too easily at his near post.
There was little the Newcastle goalkeeper could do for Leicester's third three minutes later, wrong-footed after Praet's attempted cross deflected off Dummett and trickled into the net.
Andy Carroll was introduced for his second appearance since rejoining Newcastle over the summer but the onslaught continued as Vardy grabbed his second from close range.
Left completely unmarked, Vardy was left with the simplest of headers from substitute Marc Albrighton's inch-perfect left-wing cross to deepen Newcastle's misery in the 64th minute.
Leicester seemed content not to rub further salt in the wound but Ndidi scored their fifth in the final minute, collecting the ball with his back to goal in the area before dispatching beyond Dubravka.
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Newcastle head coach Steve Bruce was stinging in his criticism of his side following their 5-0 defeat at Leicester, branding the performance at the King Power Stadium "a complete surrender".
The Foxes went ahead through Ricardo Pereira's 16th-minute opener but it was Isaac Hayden's dismissal shortly before half-time that was the catalyst for the Magpies capitulating after the interval.
Jamie Vardy scored twice, either side of Paul Dummett's unfortunate own goal, as the visitors conceded three times in the space of 11 second-half minutes before Wilfred Ndidi completed the rout late on.
The result left Newcastle second bottom in the Premier League, with only one win from their first seven fixtures, increasing the pressure on an exasperated Bruce.
He said: "It was simply nowhere near what's required. Ten men, nine men, the one thing you can show is a bit of resilience, a bit of determination, a bit of fight or a bit of courage.
"We haven't shown enough resilience and that's disappointing for me as I sit here because that's the only thing that I genuinely demand of them.
"We have to apply ourselves better than what I've just witnessed there because it was a complete surrender too quickly and too easily.
"I'm not going to single out individuals but the whole team performance, the whole lot of them were nowhere near what's required to go and make a fist of it in the Premier League."
Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles was equally scathing as Bruce, telling Sky Sports: "(It was) terrible from the boys, it's no-one's fault to blame but ourselves.
"OK, we went a man down but we've still got 10 men on the pitch and leaking four goals is not good enough. It's just not acceptable. We really do need to look at ourselves in the mirror."
Newcastle's travelling contingent were in buoyant mood long after the result became a formality but Bruce insists they must give their supporters something to cheer soon.
He added: "Too many felt sorry for themselves, yes, we made mistakes and we got badly punished but to react in that way was the disappointment for myself, the players and the travelling support, which was quite unbelievable.
"It makes the club what it is, it's quite unique but we can't take that for granted either. We need to give them something to shout about.
"Being a manager or coach, I ultimately accept the responsibility because it's as bad an afternoon as I can remember."
Hayden's terrible follow through on Dennis Praet after the players challenged for the ball led to a straight red card for the Newcastle midfielder.
Bruce added: "I've got no complaints, the red card was a poor challenge. Maybe back in my day you might get away with that but in today's game then I've got no argument."
Leicester's fourth win in their last five top-flight matches moved them up to third in the standings, two points behind Manchester City and seven adrift of leaders Liverpool, who the Foxes play next Saturday.
Manager Brendan Rodgers said: "It was an outstanding performance and result.
"Going down to 10 men can sometimes work for or against you but I thought how the players dealt with that and managed the game was outstanding because you need to be able to press the game and work arguably even harder.
"In the second half the players showed a wonderful appetite to do that. We pressed it so hard, were hungry in the game and hungry for goals. A clean sheet, five really good goals and a really good day for us."
Opta stats
- Since Brendan Rodgers’ first game in charge in March, Leicester have won 31 points – only Liverpool (49) and Man City (43) have picked up more in this period than the Foxes.
- Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has never lost a Premier League home game against opposition starting the day in the relegation zone (W12 D2 L0).
- This was Steve Bruce’s joint-heaviest ever defeat in the Premier League, alongside losing 2-7 vs Chelsea in January 2010 and 0-5 vs Man City in April 2011 as Sunderland manager.
- Newcastle United failed to land a shot on target in a Premier League game for the first time since December 2018 vs Fulham (0-0).
- Since Brendan Rodgers’ first match with Leicester in March, Jamie Vardy has scored more Premier League goals than any other player (14 goals, 17 apps).
- Jamie Vardy has scored 10 Premier League goals at the King Power Stadium in 2019 - the only players with more at a specific venue in this period are Sadio Mané (14 at Anfield) and Sergio Agüero (12 at the Etihad).
- Isaac Hayden's red card was the 52nd occasion in which Steve Bruce has seen one of his players dismissed in the Premier League; only Arsene Wenger (78) has seen more of his players sent off in the competition.
- Leicester defender Ricardo Pereira has scored in back-to-back Premier League games for the first time, netting as many goals in his last two appearances as he had in his first 40 games in the competition (2).
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