After fellow European hopefuls Nottingham Forest, Chelsea and Manchester City dropped points over the weekend, Newcastle took its chance to go fifth in the Premier League.

The Toon did so in emphatic fashion, with two Jacob Murphy goals putting them 2-0 up within 11 minutes of kick-off. 

Murphy's first came when Harvey Barnes found Tino Livramento on the overlap, and the young full-back's cross gave him the simplest of finishes at the back post.

His second came from a bizarre passage of play, as Fabian Schar spotted Mads Hermansen off his line and hit the crossbar with an audacious shot from beyond the halfway line.

With the Leicester defenders on their heels, Murphy collected the loose ball and poked home.

It was a similar story when Newcastle went 3-0 up in the 34th minute. Hermansen parried Joelinton's shot, and Barnes was the only player to react as he stabbed in the rebound.

Leicester struck both posts through a Patson Daka shot, but that was its only effort of note as it was booed off at half-time and full-time.

Newcastle – already guaranteed Europa Conference League qualification as a minimum – goes one point clear of Man City and is only behind Chelsea on goal difference, with a game in hand on all the teams around it.

Leicester, meanwhile, stays 15 points adrift of 17th-placed Wolves with just 21 to play for, and its relegation could be confirmed after its next two games.