MATCH REVIEW - Leicester 4-0 Newcastle

Would you believe me if I told you that we were the better side for long stretches of this game? Well... we were. As you can see from the SofaScore statistics, we were superior in almost every aspect except for, of course, the most important statistic of all. Once again, this was due to abject cluelessness and lack of pace in defence, particularly.

Early signs looked good for Newcastle with Jonny Evans, one of only two first-team centre-backs that were available to start for Leicester, hobbled off with a hamstring injury. Wilfred Ndidi filled in as a makeshift centre-back with Boubakary Soumaré taking over from the Nigerian in midfield. Almiron, Wilson, and Lascelles all had efforts in the first 15 minutes but nothing that made Kaspar Schmeichel work very hard, if at all, in the Leicester goal.

Timothy Castagne was booked on 11 minutes and it really did look like we had Leicester on the back foot for a time, but the home team eventually got a foot-hold in the game and probably just about shaded the first half. Willock and Lewis both gave away clumsy free kicks and the latter was booked. Saint-Maximin and Joelinton were both presented with opportunities to create but neither was able, and Dubravka made his only save of the game on 25 minutes when Willock lost Ndidi in the middle of the box.

Newcastle looked like putting together a pretty solid away performance up until the 37th minute when James Maddison brought the ball into the box, dived, tapped Lascelles' leg on the follow-through, and was awarded a penalty. VAR looked at it but said nothing, and Tielemans put it away with no hint of nerves whatsoever. As much as the scoreline made this penalty award moot in the end, it's certainly going to be the biggest talking point of the game given that, at that juncture, the game easily could've gone either way. Dermot Gallagher, Alan Pardew, and even Graeme Souness admitted that there was absolutely no way a penalty should have been given. It's telling that Glenn Murray, the only one of the MotD2 pundits who thought it was a penalty, also thought Fabian Schär was Fede Fernandez when discussing the poor cover for Maddison's goal, towards the end of the game.

The first half ended as it began, with Newcastle getting the lion's share of possession and, on 44 minutes, a mazy run from Saint-Maximin culminated in a tricky cross that was hurriedly cleared by the under-pressure Leicester defence. The lads will have felt a little hard-done-by as they exited the field at half-time and, while Lascelles didn't appeal particularly at the time, I'm sure he will have been apoplectic upon seeing the replay of Maddison's blatant cheating when he got to the dressing room. He was among our better performers in the first half... didn't put a foot wrong, and that includes the penalty award that should never have been.

Newcastle started the second half much like the first and were in the ascendancy for most of it - Harvey Barnes saw his speculative effort on the turn from the edge of the box drift wide on 48 minutes, and Joelinton had Newcastle's first shot on target five minutes later but it was straight at Schmeichel. Then, on 57 minutes, a lack of defensive organisation allowed Patson Daka a one-on-one situation after what was, to his credit, an excellently timed pass from Maddison and a simple square ball from Harvey Barnes.

It was at this point where it looked like, despite our best efforts, it probably wasn't going to be our day. Willock fired over the bar from the edge of the box after another mazy run by Saint-Maximin and, really, the man who was breaking goalscoring records for us at the end of last season should have done better with his effort and at least tested Schmeichel. Murphy and Fraser replaced Almiron and Lewis on 62 minutes and Jacob Murphy in particular looked to give us a bit more attacking impetus, but we couldn't get through a Leicester defence that looked a lot more organised than they have been in recent games. That said, Saint-Maximin fired a shot that will have stung Schmeichel's hands, after Fraser's cleared free kick fell to him. A few minutes later, Jonjo Shelvey unleashed a fierce volley at goal after Schmeichel's clearance dropped perfectly to him... that man Wilfred Ndidi got in the way again, though, and Newcastle were denied once more. Manquillo was then rightly booked for a cynical challenge on 70 minutes.

If it didn't feel like it was going to be our game at that point, Castagne's horrendous backpass on 78 minutes looked certain to get us back into the game as Schmeichel rushed back to clear it, but the 2nd-generation Great Dane was able get back to the line in time to stop the ball and clear it with confidence - he and the other Leicester players didn't even look shaken at this point and it seemed that Newcastle's heads dropped, much to Eddie Howe's chagrin.

The last 10 minutes were utterly woeful. Leicester's third came after a lazy pass from Shelvey was met by a similarly lazy attempt to pick the ball up by Jacob Murphy. Leicester countered and by the time they got to our box, the defence were at sixes and sevens, and Tielemans was left with an easy tap-in for his second goal of the game. To add insult to injury, Joelinton, who had again performed admirably to silence many of his critics, was caught in possession not far outside the box. A couple of swift passes saw cheating bastard James Maddison with a great chance from the left of the six-yard box and he finished confidently.

I can't in good conscience agree with Maddison getting the Man of the Match award - to reward someone who has blatantly cheated is pathetic, in my opinion, and I can't understand how it was allowed to happen, no matter how well he played after that. Ndidi probably shaded it for me, especially as he was out of position - I feel that it was his influence that allowed Leicester to defend so solidly and not let us break them down. That said, Callum Wilson basically didn't get a sniff and, while we had more shots on goal than Leicester, and more shots from inside the box, we didn't create anything that could be described as a big chance... yet we gifted them two, the ref gifted them another, and the lack of pace in the middle of our defence was detrimental when Leicester's admittedly brilliant attacking players strung a few passes together.

All in all... we need to stop shipping goals. I never thought I'd be able to see positives in a 4-0 defeat but there were plenty there. I sound like a broken record but we desperately need at least two new defenders if we have any chance of turning our season around. I still think we will... but it's getting harder and harder to say that. I'm just thankful that Leicester away, Liverpool away, and Man Utd and Man City at home, all games we would expect to lose anyway, are happening now before we get a chance to spend money. No matter what happens between now and the end of December, it's clear that we are going to need to go on a phenomenal run of results in the new year, in order to survive. Keegan did it in 1993. Howe can do it too.

PLAYER RATINGS

Those of you who are in the Toontalk Telegram group (click HERE to join) will have seen my initial ratings yesterday but I've had a look at the goals again to work out where specific blame lies for the goals... it's not pretty reading for Fabian Schär, I'm afraid...

Dubravka - 6.5 - not directly at fault for any of the goals thought he might have done better with Tielemans' second... if we'd won 3-1, though, I wouldn't be saying that. Still... I start all my players at 6.5 (my "borderline acceptable" score) and I can't really give any goalkeeper who concedes 4 a higher score. It's not all on him, but he didn't organise the defence well.

Manquillo - 6.2 - Most of Leicester's dangerous attacks came down our right-hand side and were like a knife through butter. Manquillo didn't really offer much coming forward and did little to stop Leicester's attacks. A day to forget. Booked.

Lascelles - 6.6 - Newcastle's best defender in the first half, and should certainly feel aggrieved to have given the penalty away. Second half, absolutely terrible as were the rest of the defence. His lack of pace was very telling, frequently losing out despite having head-starts against Leicester's forwards.

Schär - 5.9 - Shocking. I've been a fan of his since he signed but, this season, he's proven to be nowhere near the quality we need as a defender, regardless of his occasional passing prowess.

Lewis - 6.0 - Deserved his booking, offered nothing going forward, and was nowhere to be seen for any of Leicester's goals (well... he'd been subbed off for Ritchie when the 4th went in, but you know what I mean).

Shelvey - 6.6 - Horrendous in the first half, passing was all over the place and his lack of alertness left Lascelles in trouble, and gave the ref a decision to make on the penalty (though he can't be blamed for the ref making the wrong call). Second half, was one of our better performers, finding his feet a bit and probably having our most promising shot at goal.

Willock - 5.5 - Probably his worst performance for Newcastle to date. I don't know what has happened to him but I think the lad is devoid of confidence. Clumsy challenges, bad passing, getting caught in possession... I reckon he's playing too deep alongside Shelvey. I'd have Hayden back as soon as possible with Willock as an option for an attacking midfielder. He shouldn't start against Liverpool, that's for sure.

Almiron - 6.8 - Nothing to write home about, but a competent performance for sure. Passing, running, and tackling were all good and he was arguably our best player in the first half. Still not enough creativity coming from the lad, but once again put in a great shift and actually seemed like he knew what he was doing for most of this game, rather than living up to the headless chicken jibes that have been directed at him of late. He will come good, I'm sure. Time's running out, though.

Saint-Maximin - 6.8 - The only player who created anything, and he did so a few times, but as usual he also ran into trouble far too many times. Needs at least one other player who has the same kind of attacking impetus as him, so that he can pass earlier without always thinking he has to beat one or two more players.

Joelinton - 7.1 - Newcastle's best player. Again. Hit and miss the first half but a domineering presence in the second. Won the ball several times, passing was good, and tackling was good. I'd swap him with Willock - IMO Joelinton is a central midfielder masquerading as a forward, whereas Willock definitely needs to play further up the pitch than he is at the moment.

Wilson - 6.5 - Didn't really get a sniff, not a lot of movement to allow his team-mates to get the ball to him and, obviously, no goals. Like Saint-Maximin, is in desperate need of a supportive attacking player to create space for him and give him more goalscoring opportunities.

SUBS

Fraser - 6.6 - Looked bright on occasion but didn't really do much. Probably should've replaced Willock rather than Almiron to give us a more attacking midfield in general.

Murphy - 6.8 - Looked decent when he came on and certainly has the passion and intent that a Newcastle fan would be expected to have if playing for his boyhood club. Caused the defence problems and might've been more effective if on from the start.

Ritchie - N/A - Our most creative player so far this season (6th in the League!) didn't have enough time on the pitch to create anything, or to get a rating.