Newcastle United beat Leicester City with three first-half goals to claim a sixth consecutive Premier League win and move up to second in the table.
Chris Wood capped a dominant performance by smashing the opener from the penalty spot before Miguel Almiron outran the Leicester defense to put the other away.
Joelinton headed home the third from a Kieran Trippier corner for his second goal of the season as the Magpies showed a clinical edge that the hosts had been missing.
With England midfielder James Maddison left out of the Leicester squad as he recovers from a knee problem ahead of the World Cup, Brendan Rodgers’ side were toothless in attack.
Jamie Vardy was introduced off the bench to add pace to the Foxes’ attack in the second half, and he managed to get low on a couple of occasions but there was no blue shirt to meet his crosses.
The Magpies are four points behind leaders Arsenal, who have played two fewer games. Leicester – who registered just two attempts on target in the final 10 minutes – finished 13th.
Magpies pick up where they left off in the foxes’ struggle.
Newcastle were the form team in the Premier League before the World Cup break, recording back-to-back wins over Everton, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Southampton and Chelsea.
England forward Callum Wilson was absent from the match-day squad due to illness, but the match could not have started better for the visitors as Daniel Amartey’s leg sweep with just a minute on the clock brought Joelton into the area. was
Wood chipped the ball down the middle to beat goalkeeper Danny Ward to open the scoring.
Leicester’s defense lacked intensity in the absence of veteran Jonny Evans, and Almiron was beneficial for the second as he moved past the blue shirts to open up his body to find the far corner he so diligently found. Worked hard. Top
The game was over as a contest before the break when Joelinton was rewarded for his effort with a powerful headed goal as he completely missed marker Yuri Tillmans.
Leicester failed to get their first shot on target until the 82nd minute, Kiernan Dewsbury Hall’s effort failing to trouble goalkeeper Nick Pope.
The hosts will be hoping for a quick return from playmaker Maddison’s knee injury as they look to move up the table in the coming weeks.
But if Newcastle can maintain this form, they could have reason to dream of a title push in the New Year.
