Shelve the fun next time, Leicester
Newcastle turn up in serious mood and have the last laugh
NO MATTER how many beers you hand out, no matter how many fireworks you let off, there’s always a chance someone will spoil your party.
Leicester owner Vichai Sriv add ha nap rabh al earned that yesterday. Jonjo Shelvey and Ayoze Perez ruined his 60th birthday celebrations at the King Power. Even so, the away side’s manager will tell them their work is not finished.
Someone should tell the Newcastle fans. By the end, they were holding their own shindig in honour of Rafa Benitez.
As much as he says otherwise, there is now little chance his side will be relegated.
‘We are nearly there but we still want to get to 40 points,’ he insisted afterwards.
Behind the scenes, Benitez will now want guarantees that he can push this giant of the North East on next season. And with good reason. With the right investment, Europe could beckon.
He already has a few hopes in his side. Shelvey may not be in Gareth Southgate’s England thoughts but he did pierce the Leicester defence with his strike. Perez has put aside a difficult start to life in England to combine his natural talents with steel.
His lob for the second was a highlight. ‘It was a great goal,’ Benitez said.
Beforehand, it was Leicester who still viewed continental qualification as a possibility. Not by the end. They were dull a nd bl unted despit e t hei r attack-minded approach.
Meanwhile, Benitez picked the same starting line-up that beat Huddersfield last weekend. It was the right decision.
The visitors started in a fluid fashion. Kasper Schmeichel was tested within three minutes, having to turn a Perez header around the post. It should have been a warning for Leicester, who already seemed to have a hangover.
They did not heed it. Perez got his day going with a tidy check back on the corner of the box. It took Vicente Iborra out of the game. Perez played in the unmarked Shelvey on the edge of the box.
Shelvey paused before deciding to t a k e We s Morgan and Harry Maguire for a dance. The t wo unwitting participants in his tango misread the drop of his shoulder. They went right. Shelvey checked left.
And when t he f l oor had cleared, he had a clear sight of goal. Schmeichel was no match for his curled strike.
Leicester were stumbling and i t could have easily got worse. Maguire was fortunate not to see red after palming Dwight Gayle in the face after the Newcastle striker had fouled him.
Stuart Attwell showed yellow. ‘It was a possible red card,’ said Benitez. ‘You can’t touch the face.’
The referee l evelled up t he decisions shortly after. Throughout the game the away end rocked. They even took time to hail leftback Paul Dummett as one of their own.
It was nearly badly timed. Just as the chorus ended, he seemed to take out Riyad Mahrez in the box after a brilliant through ball by Adrien Silva.
Attwell decided it was not a penalty. Dummett seemed to touch the ball away rather than slamming into Mahrez. But it seemed a bit improbable that, from Attwell’s angle, it did not merit a spot-kick.
Leicester boss Claude Puel was convinced: ‘ Of course it was a penalty.
‘There was contact with Riyad’s foot. It was an important moment just before the break. Our performance was too poor in the first half. After that we had a good reaction but we have t o correct t hese aspects.’
Mahrez had a chance in the 60th minute, cutting i nside on that dangerous left foot of his before firing towards Martin Dubravka’s net. A block scuppered him. Then a whipped delivery required Florian Lejeune to hook it clear.
But soon after Lejeune turned provider for Perez — not that he would have thought it as he punted the ball clear. Morgan bizarrely decided to block Perez instead of defending the ball, and when the No 10 circled him, all he had to do was lob Schmeichel.
That was still a tough task from 30 yards, but he did it perfectly, half- volleying it over the prone Leicester stopper. Schmeichel could only stand and watch.
Any hope of this turning into a memorable birthday for Vichai was over. Jamie Vardy tried to get the crowd going again with his tap-in with seven minutes to go, but by t hen t he drinks had been spilled.