Six years ago Leicester City were Premier League champions contemplating a Champions League knockout tie with Sevilla, while Newcastle had just lost to Championship rivals Blackburn. The two clubs’ switch in status was laid bare here in another brilliant display by Eddie Howe’s side, whose dominance could best be measured not by their two-goal win but by the sheer quantity and quality of chances spurned.
For much of the game Newcastle scooped up fistfuls of xG, then proceeded to scatter them anywhere but the back of the net. Bruno Guimaraes and Sean Longstaff conspired to miss the best of the bunch but Callum Wilson, Miguel Almiron and Joelinton were also left scratching their heads at various moments in the first hour, wondering if this would be one of those nights when the net never bulged; the threat of an instant penalty shootout with no extra time loomed in the background with the score goalless.
