Newcastle United took a giant leap towards Premier League survival as they picked up an impressive 2-1 win.
Having not put three wins together in the league since September, Newcastle fans would have been forgiven for feeling that they went into this part of the season facing a battle to beat the drop in the Premier League that would probably go right down to the wire.
However, with six games remaining, Rafa Benitez’s men appear to have taken some giant strides towards safety in recent weeks, with the most significant stride coming on Saturday when the Magpies travelled to the King Power Stadium to take on Leicester City.
Newcastle would have been underdogs for the game, with the Foxes comfortably inside the top-half of the table and also boasting back to back victories, but Benitez’s men ensured that they were the ones celebrating at the final whistle.
Jonjo Shelvey broke the deadlock early on before Ayoze Perez scored a wonderful goal in the second-half. The Spaniard’s lob would prove to be the winner as Jamie Vardy set up a tense finish with a late reply for the home side.
Newcastle held on and have now moved themselves 10 points clear of the bottom three heading into the final weeks of the campaign. Unsurprisingly, many now believe that a second season in the top flight is Newcastle’s.
There were some brilliant performances all over the pitch from the visitors. But perhaps it was Shelvey’s expression at full-time that best symbolised what the win meant to the Magpies players and fans as he could not hide his delight, and perhaps relief, at the victory.
The midfielder has often been criticised during his time at St James’ Park, but he is one of a number of players who have stepped up lately. And based on these images, it is clear just what Newcastle’s recent success means to him…
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