Murphy double sends Newcastle to fifth

Murphy double sends Newcastle to fifth

Newcastle United surged to fifth place in the Premier League with a commanding 3-0 win over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium, keeping their Champions League qualification hopes alive while deepening Leicester’s relegation worries.

With rivals for a top-four finish dropping points over the weekend, Newcastle seized their opportunity. A quickfire brace from Jacob Murphy put the Magpies in control early, and Harvey Barnes added a third before halftime.

The win puts Eddie Howe’s side one point ahead of Manchester City, with a game in hand, and level with Chelsea on points, only trailing on goal difference. Meanwhile, Leicester City now sit 15 points behind 17th-placed Wolves, with only 21 points left to contest.

“Really pleased. A massive win for us. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” said Newcastle boss Eddie Howe. “We started really well and that gave us the foundation to go and win.”

Leicester coach Ruud van Nistelrooy expressed frustration: “It’s clear where it went wrong very early in the game again. If we look at the three goals carefully, we could have done better in all three. Newcastle are deadly on the counter-attack and finished the game very quickly.”

This result continues Newcastle’s strong form, with 11 wins from their last 15 Premier League matches (L4). Since their 4-0 win over Leicester on December 14, only Liverpool (38 points) have earned more than their 33 points.

Leicester, on the other hand, have set an unwanted record — becoming the first side across the top four tiers of English football to lose eight successive home league matches without scoring.

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