Newcastle United ended a run of four matches without a win in the Premier League with a thumping 4-0 victory over Leicester City at St. James’ Park on Saturday.
Jacob Murphy opened the scoring in the first half with a pinpoint finish into the bottom corner after Anthony Gordon burst into the box and cut it back from the right flank.
The other three goals came in the second half, with Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak both heading in from close range, and Murphy firing a shot into the bottom corner from inside the box.
One of the top performers for Newcastle in the match was, of course, the English winger who scored two of Eddie Howe’s side’s four goals on Tyneside.
Jacob Murphy's performance against Leicester
The former Norwich City forward had not scored a goal in the Premier League before this weekend and found the back of the net twice against the Foxes.
Murphy will now be hoping to get his name on the scoresheet more often, having failed to do so in the previous 12 games, after his two incredibly composed finishes, finding the bottom corner with a first-time finish in the first half before firing a shot in with power for the fourth.
The Englishman also created two chances for his teammates in his 65 minutes on the pitch, which shows that he looked to be unselfish when the opportunity was there.
Murphy did, however, lose all four of his duels in the game and may need to be stronger out of possession against opponents who will put up a better fight than Leicester did.
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Sandro Tonali, meanwhile, was just as good as the English forward and proved to Howe why he should be a regular in the Newcastle starting XI moving forward.
Sandro Tonali's performance against Leicester
The Italy international was selected in the middle of the park alongside Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes and caught the eye with a dominant display for the Magpies.
It was only his seventh start in 14 Premier League appearances, which shows that Howe has not trusted him to start week-in-week-out, but his performance suggests that he should now be a regular for the team.
The former AC Milan star played a crucial role in the opening goal with his clever pass down the outside of the defender to set Gordon away in the box to assist Murphy, and the rest of his display was also impressive.
Touches
88
Pass accuracy
92%
Key passes
1
Ground duels won
4/5
Tackles + interceptions
4
As you can see in the table above, the Italian dynamo combined composure and efficiency in possession with dominant defensive work to win the ball back for his side.
Tonali showcased his defensive qualities, breaking up Leicester attacks and dominating physical battles, and provided a metronomic presence at the base of the midfield with his effective passing.
Meanwhile, Sean Longstaff, who has started eight league games, has only completed 86% of his passes and won 54% of his duels this season.
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These statistics suggest that the Tonali could offer more to the side as a defender and as a passer, in comparison to the Englishman, and that is why he should be starting regularly ahead of him.