Julius Okorie
Relegation hunted Leicester City had their woes compounded after a 3-0 loss to a very impressive Newcastle on Monday night.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe defeat did not only further confirm the Foxes imminent relegation but also left an ugly record as Leicester City became the first side in Football League history to lose eight home games in a row without scoring.
Jacob Murphy’s double and Harvey Barnes goal condemn Foxes to record-breaking defeat, taking Newcastle up to fifth in the Premier league table and sending Leicester City closer to relegation to the championship.
Already-relegated Southampton parted with Ivan Juric earlier in the day amid talk the Premier League’s bottom team are the competition’s worst-ever – but Leicester have hardly been much better and their own drop back to the Championship seems inevitable after latest defeat.
Fifteen points behind 17th-placed Wolves with seven to play looks an impossible task for Ruud van Nistelrooy’s sorry side, to remedy.
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It was a night to remember for the wrong reasons for the Foxes as their own fans turned against them, preferring to hail the visitors in an apparent show of hopelessness. The fans were heard chanting “you’re not fit to wear the shirt”
For Leicester City boss Ruud van Nistelrooy, it was indeed a night of lamentation “It’s clear where it went wrong. Very early in the game, again. Then after [34] minutes we lost the game and that’s a tough one to take.
“If you look at the goals carefully, we could have done better ourselves on all three. You can see the duel we miss, the back post where we were in a good position but don’t clear the ball. For the second and third we lose the ball in positions where we can’t lose it. Then Newcastle is deadly in the counter attack and they finished off the game very quickly.”
On Leicester’s inability to score: “It’s a confidence thing. In the second half you can see when there is no pressure anymore to play it frees people up. Then you see some reasonable football going forward but when the pressure is on to win games, stay in games, it becomes very difficult. With an early couple of goals it collapses.”
On his future: “This is a difficult night, especially with the run of form we’re in. It’s important to analyse this and sleep on it and recover from it. That is it for now.”
Are there questions in his mind about continuing? “There are no questions, but it’s dealing with this setback, another one for now, that’s what I can say.”
Nigeria’s Wilfred Ndidi got a four over ten rating in the encounter. Ndidi who has established himself as a must play for the Foxes over the years despite their poor run, is on the verge of joining compatriots Joe Aribo and Paul Onuachu in the relegation train.
Should they trio be playing in the Championship next season, they will face compatriot Kelechi Iheanacho who has been doing a good job for Middlesbrough since joining them on a season loan from Spanish side Sevilla, early February.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
