The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsLeicester maintained their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a narrow win as Rafael Benitez lost his first match in charge of Newcastle.
An acrobatic finish from Shinji Okazaki was all that separated the two sides, meaning the Foxes regained their lead of five points over Tottenham.
Although Leicester were far from their best, Newcastle were a much improved side and looked well-structured at the back.
Neither goalkeeper had much to do in the duration of the game; in fact there were only three shots on target in the 90 minutes. Ayoze Perez and Moussa Sissoko went close for the Magpies but Leicester’s one shot on target proved to be decisive.
Marc Albrighton crossed the ball into the box and after Jamie Vardy headed the ball across goal, Okazaki was left unmarked to score brilliantly with an overhead kick.
This was the Japanese international’s first goal at the King Power Stadium, becoming the seventh different player to score in Leicester’s last seven goals.
Despite having a large amount of possession in the midfield, Newcastle failed to break down the Foxes’ defence and another clean sheet for Claudio Ranieri’s side makes it six out of the last seven home matches.
The loss leaves Newcastle 19th with a game in hand but Benitez now has to prepare for one of the biggest games on the Magpies’ calendar, the Tyne-Wear derby against Sunderland on Sunday.
Before Monday’s match Claudio Ranieri announced that the new objective for the season was to make the Europa League. The win however has left fans wondering how many points are needed to clinch the title itself.
It was another scrappy win for the Foxes where the players had to dig deep to find the quality. A trip to Selhurst Park is next up for Leicester; a very different type of game as the hosts will be more attacking than recent opposition.
If the Foxes are going to get another three points on the board they will need to rediscover their fearless approach, although some of their best performances this season have been on the road as it best suits their counter-attacking style.
A win against Crystal Palace would be huge for Leicester as Tottenham face a potentially difficult test against Bournemouth, while Arsenal are away at Everton, West Ham face a tough test at Chelsea and the Manchester derby is on Sunday.
The top sides may well drop points at the weekend so it could be hugely beneficial for Leicester’s hope of Champions League football next season.
