Newcastle took a giant stride towards Premier League survival after securing a resounding 4-2 win at Leicester, dealing a blow to the hosts’ Champions League hopes at the King Power Stadium on Friday Night Football.
Steve Bruce’s side moved up to 13th, 12 points clear of 18th-placed Fulham, who still have four games to play, as fears of another end-of-season collapse for the Foxes in their bid to finish in the top four showed signs of materialising.
Joe Willock took full advantage of a Caglar Soyuncu error to continue his rich vein of form before Paul Dummett rose unopposed to double Newcastle’s lead, with Brendan Rodgers’ team visibly unsettled by the late withdrawal of Jonny Evans prior to kick-off through injury.
Callum Wilson pounced on a Timothy Castagne mistake to add to Leicester’s woes before making it 4-0 from an acute angle following a slack backpass from the unnerved Castagne.
Marc Albrighton reduced the deficit with a rifled finish, before Kelechi Iheanacho halved the arrears but it would prove scant consolation.
The result moves Steve Bruce’s side up to 13th, 12 points ahead of 18th-placed Fulham who have four games left.
Leicester, in third, remain five points ahead of fifth-placed West Ham but have now played a game more.
“I have said quietly for weeks that we’d be OK when we got our big players back. My staff have worked tirelessly to make sure we got to this position,” Bruce said.
“We have turned it around at the right time. Normally [39 points] is enough. We are in the dizzying heights of 13th. We haven’t done it yet but we have made big strides in the last few weeks.”
