Only time will tell whether Ruud van Nistelrooy’s honeymoon as Leicester’s manager was ended or merely interrupted here. Equally, it is far too early to predict if this will come to be regarded as a watershed moment in Newcastle’s hitherto stuttering season but, after four games without a win, they certainly succeeded in making a mockery of suggestions that Eddie Howe might be destined for the sack.
While he recently celebrated his third anniversary in charge on Tyneside, Van Nistelrooy suffered a first defeat in three matches since taking the helm. How the 48-year-old must have wished he was still wearing his old shooting boots rather than watching in increasing dismay from the edge of the technical area as his team emphasised precisely why they remain in relegation peril.
