RAFA CAN RELAX AS TOON ARE SAFE
FINALLY, Rafael Benitez can take a breather. It has been a season of stress in the search for survival but this win should see Newcastle safe. For a month Benitez has been saying one more victory would be enough and as he sensed the chance here he wore the emotions outwardly. He shouted and strained, beckoned and bawled. Newcastle contained Leicester with typical defensive organisation but also carried an attacking threat. Salomon Rondon struck a wonderful free-kick from nearly 30 yards that curled just a little too much and smacked the bar with Kasper Schmeichel beaten. Miguel Almiron twisted in the area and got a shot away that Schmeichel parried out. So it was not a total surprise when Newcastle took the lead just after the half-hour. The move began in midfield with Almiron eventually picking up possession on the wing. He darted to the box but Ricardo Pereira put in a block and the ball fell to Matt Ritchie who had advanced from wing-back. Ritchie’s first touch was superb, taking him past Ricardo, and his second was terrific too, a cross asking to be attacked. Ayoze Perez anticipated brilliantly, cutting across Wes Morgan and glancing a header into the far corner. LEICESTER (4-1-4-1): Schmeichel 7; Ricardo 6, Morgan 7, Maguire 6.5, Chilwell 6.5; Ndidi 6 (Mendy 72min, 6); Gray 6 (Iheanacho 72, 6), Tielemans 6, Maddison 7, Barnes 6.5; Vardy 6. Subs not used: Evans, Albrighton, Ward, Okazaki, Fuchs. Manager: Brendan Rodgers 6.5. NEWCASTLE (5-4-1): Dubravka 7; Manquillo 7, Schar 7, Lascelles 7, Dummett 7, Ritchie 7; Perez 7.5, Ki 7, Hayden 7, Almiron 7 (Atsu 78); Rondon 7. Subs not used: Shelvey, Diame, Muto, Fernandez, Yedlin, Darlow. Scorer: Perez 32. Manager: Rafa Benitez 7.5. Referee: Christopher Kavanagh 7. Attendance: 32,108.