Newcastle United eased to a 3-0 victory over a poor Leicester City to move into the Champions League places with a game in hand on those around them.

Eddie Howe’s side took full advantage of facing relegation-bound opponents to lead after two minutes through Jacob Murphy following neat work from Tino Livramento and Harvey Barnes.

Fabian Schar then went for an audacious shot from his own half that looped over Mads Hermansen and hit the bar, and Murphy followed up to double the lead before Barnes scored a third against his former club.

Jacob Whitehead and George Caulkin break down the action from the King Power Stadium.

Are Newcastle Champions League-bound?

They have taken their time about it, but Newcastle are finally making a habit of beating the teams they are supposed to beat.

Their last three matches in the Premier League have brought victories over West Ham United, Brentford and Leicester City, the kind of fixtures that proved a little sticky earlier this season.

Away from home, Howe’s players have lost at Fulham and Brentford. At St James’ Park, they have succumbed to Brighton, West Ham, Bournemouth and Fulham. This tells a story; rousing themselves for mid-tier opponents has, on occasion, been problematic.

Leicester are not exactly mid-tier and Ruud van Nistelrooy’s team gave incompetence a bad name here, but Newcastle made short work of them. There was no fuss and no drama, just a second-gear performance and a first-class result.

Buoyed by their success in lifting the Carabao Cup, it took them back up to fifth in the table, level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea (with a game in hand), which is likely to be good enough for a return to Champions League football next season. It was precisely the stuff that winners are made of.

George Caulkin

What made Schar try that audacious shot?

One calamity is followed by another, which is often the way of things near the foot of the table.

For the second goal, Conor Coady passes a lazy ball forward and Jamie Vardy reacts like a man wearing hobnail boots, allowing Schar to nudge in front of him, step into the centre circle and, from two yards behind the halfway line, shoot. To repeat: he shoots.

Mads Hermansen – a bit like his club – is lost in the wilderness and, as the ball dips and falls, it becomes very clear the Leicester goalkeeper is not making up forsaken ground.

Thankfully for him, the crossbar gets in the way…

A little less fortunately, Murphy is present to make it 2-0 to Newcastle.

This extraordinary moment provides an accurate snapshot of two clubs in very different states, one confident and ambitious, the other leaden-footed and committed only to witless decision-making.

It also says something about Schar, 33, who, let us not forget, is a centre-half, albeit one with a love of getting forward. Nobody in the Newcastle squad possesses his ability to probe with long-range balls, which partially explains the one-year contract extension he signed last week. He is precious.

He has also done this before …

Fabian Schar has always had that in his locker. He scored this for FC Wil back in 2011… Enjoy. https://t.co/H52rKuw6XN pic.twitter.com/nOcCFtHXR1

— Jacob Whitehead (@jwhitey98) April 7, 2025

How has Murphy reinvented himself to be among top performers?

Murphy’s impact is undeniable. Since December 7, only Mohamed Salah and Isak have more goal contributions than Murphy (seven goals and seven assists).

His two goals against Leicester were both tap-ins, but they are a reminder of what Murphy does well — runs hard, gets in the right places, and interlinks brilliantly with his fellow attackers.

The boyhood Newcastle fan has reinvented himself throughout his time in the North East, and moved from symbol of the Ashley era’s malaise to a winger who has been part of some of the club’s greatest moments.

When Newcastle were taken over by the financial might of Saudi Arabia’s PIF, few would have expected Murphy to remain as the club’s starting right winger over three years — except for the belief of the player himself.

Newcastle will be in the market for a right winger this summer but don’t get ahead of yourself — Murphy has held onto his spot over more storied arrivals before. All signs point to him scrapping to do so again.

Jacob Whitehead

Has Livramento been better on his ‘wrong’ side?

It is understandable that Newcastle supporters were worried when Lewis Hall was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a foot injury. Newcastle’s only specialist back-up, Matt Targett, has barely played in the past two years, while Dan Burn is much-needed at centre-back.

But any worry was only felt externally — Eddie Howe was confident that starting right-back Tino Livramento could do a job on his weaker side. But Livramento has done more than a job — the 22-year-old has excelled.

He shackled Mohamed Salah in the 2-1 Carabao Cup final win and against Brentford was arguably Newcastle’s player.

Earlier this season, back on the right, Livramento had lost a little form for the first time in his Newcastle career. It was a slight dip in standards, and he found himself back under pressure from Kieran Trippier.

Livramento is Newcastle’s long-term right-back, but has rediscovered his best form, momentarily, on the left. He created the first goal by finding space on the overlap and drilling a left-footed cross to the far post for Murphy to tap home.

That weak-foot ability has been a major benefit — he created Alexander Isak’s goal in the Carabao Cup final with a deep, looping ball from the byline.

But against Leicester, he allied it with the benefit of his natural right-footedness. One frequent pattern of Newcastle’s attacks was for Harvey Barnes to hug the left touchline, creating space for Livramento to burst through midfield with an underlapping run, before linking up with Isak or his left winger and continuing his movement.

Jacob Whitehead

Barnes is taking his chance

When Harvey Barnes returned to the King Power Stadium on Monday evening, this was his fifth consecutive start — the longest run of games he has had at Newcastle.

He has found the last two seasons difficult at times, struggling to live up to the £40m price tag amidst awkward injuries, indifferent form, and the emergence of teammate Anthony Gordon as an international-level left winger.

But when Gordon was red-carded and suspended for three matches after Newcastle’s FA Cup defeat to Brighton, Barnes had his chance. And he has taken it.

As one of Newcastle’s only back-up players with significant resale value, he is in theory a player who could be sold this summer. His value may never truly recoup the £40m fee — but the past month has shown what he can contribute when called.

Jacob Whitehead

What did Eddie Howe say?

Speaking after the match about the performance, Howe said: “Impressive, but really professional as well in terms of the way that the players took the game. We stuck to our task, we were professional, really good to get a clean sheet, and three goals.

On continuing to perform in the league after their Carabao Cup success, Howe said: “That was a big question mark against us, really. How do we react to that big high that we had? To be fair to the players, they’ve responded magnificently to that. Two tough Premier League games, two massive wins, a real sort of tick in the box for our psychology and how we approach the games.

“Now we need a sort of a reset again because we’ve got three games coming up in six days, a really big test for us. Potentially three tougher games as well, so I think we’re going to need to refocus again and potentially have an upturn in performance again if we want to win those games.

“I don’t see complacency as an issue. I think the players are experienced. We haven’t got a youthful group. We’ve got a lot of players that have been through various situations in their careers. I don’t think we take anything for granted.”

What next for Newcastle?

Sunday, April 13: Manchester United (Home), Premier League, 4.30pm UK, 11.30am ET

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(Top photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)