Newcastle United 0-2 Leicester City
Yet more misery for all on Tyneside as Newcastle failed to win at home for the fourth time in a row since that start of the season.
This time a 2-0 loss to a Leicester side who have started their won campaign in good form was no ore than the Magpies deserved.
That said, the scoreline could have been very different had referee Simon Hooper played the game by the rules. A penalty awarded to the visitors allowing Vardy to stroke home the spot kick was dubious but could be argued both way. Whilst his decision not to award a penalty to Newcastle in the second half was inexplicable. And when Maguire headed home on 73, a lack of marking that will infuriate Benitez, it was game over.
With Rondon, Dummett and Fernandez all ruled out before kick off Rafa put out the best side he could under the watching eye of owner Mike Ashley, who received justified stick throughout the contest.
STARTING XI: Dubravka, Yedlin (Manquillo, 80), Lascelles, Clark, Kenedy, Ritchie (Murphy, 65), Shelvey, Diame, Atsu, Perez (Muto, 69), Joselu
In truth through his black and whites never got going. A flat atmosphere in the stadium only punctuated by the anti Ashley chanting although the Strawberry corner did try their best to lift things on several occasions, most notably after a ‘stand up if you hate Ashley’ chant that had the vast majority on their feet.
This run of four losses on the spin is an unwanted club record in a league season. And with a trip to Manchester United, reeling from their own version of a crisis (if only), god only knows what the next couple of weeks will bring. Maybe it will be the inevitable ‘rubbishing’ of the story that Peter Kenyon is leading a consortium to buy Newcastle, or perhaps Ashley will choke on a roll when taking the team and management staff out for a meal this week.
The soap opera goes on!