Mathematicians could quibble but Newcastle have practically banished the threat of relegation thanks to this polished victory, their first away in the Premier League since New Year’s Day. Goals by Jonjo Shelvey and Ayoze Pérez, before Jamie Vardy pulled one back for Leicester late on, took Rafael Benítez’s side to 38 points, a tally that will almost certainly ensure they finish above at least three other clubs.
Benítez is not willing to declare mission accomplished just yet. “We are really close but you never know in football so you have to carry on,” he said before invoking the traditional threshold: “When we get to 40 points we’ll be fine.“ But the way his team performed spoke of a side that believes it belongs in the Premier League.
There is a distinction between a team that battles for survival and one that calmly asserts its right to play in the top flight. Here, and to Benítez’s immense credit, Newcastle’s players looked fully aware of their roles and convinced of their ability to fulfil them. Coming into the game on the back of two home wins, Benítez’s side showed confidence and smoothness. They were helped by another sluggish start by Leicester, a bad habit that Claude Puel’s team have fallen into in recent weeks.
The King Power crowd were treated to free beer and fireworks before kick-off to celebrate the 60th birthday of Leicester’s chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, but the home team were not supposed to be generous to the opposition. Leicester’s early diffidence seemed like an invitation to Newcastle and Benítez’s men did not need to be asked twice. They came close to scoring in the second minute when Kasper Schmeichel had to bat away a glancing header by Pérez following a corner by Kenedy.
Leicester’s play for most of the first period was slow and bitty, the opposite of Newcastle’s. Shelvey intelligently ran midfield, where Leicester missed the dynamism of the suspended Wilfried Ndidi.
Shelvey was instrumental when Newcastle opened the scoring in the 18th minute. After Pérez picked him out on the edge of the area, Shelvey used a foxy dummy to send Wes Morgan and Harry Maguire on a wild goose chase. Then he guided a shot from 18 yards past Schmeichel, helped by a deflection off Ben Chilwell.
It was Shelvey’s first goal in the Premier League for Newcastle and, allied to how he orchestrated play for much of the first half, the ideal way to strengthen his chances of persuading Gareth Southgate to draft him into England’s World Cup squad.
Maguire seems certain to go to Russia but could have been given his marching orders here. In the 20th minute he reacted to Dwight Gayle’s pesky jostling by turning and giving the striker an open-handed shove in the mouth. The referee, Stuart Attwell, showed only a yellow card.