Here are the Newcastle United evening headlines on Tuesday, December 27.
Newcastle owners' next move will be telling, transfer plans may change and Leicester apology
Newcastle United supporters are still checking the table. Can you blame them? Whatever happens at the Etihad on Wednesday, the fans will savour at least another night riding on the coattails of league leaders Arsenal in second place.
No wonder Geordies chanted: 'We're Newcastle and we're going to win the league!' during the Magpies' 3-0 win against Leicester City on Boxing Day. Those 3,330 supporters in the away end may have been half-joking, but they only needed to take a look around their surroundings at the King Power Stadium to realise anything is possible this season. After all, this was the site where Leicester lifted the Premier League trophy in 2016.
To think, exactly a year ago, only a single point was keeping Newcastle off the bottom of the table. Yes money has been spent since then, but nine of the 15 individuals who featured at Leicester were players Eddie Howe inherited, including two of the goal scorers: Miguel Almiron and Joelinton.
Brendan Rodgers left fuming in Leicester dressing room as Newcastle make another statement
Brendan Rodgers was understandably 'not happy' in the Leicester City dressing room after Newcastle United put his side to the sword in the Foxes' own backyard.
The Magpies picked up from where they left off before the World Cup break with an impressive 3-0 win at the King Power Stadium to move up to second place in the table. It felt like yet another statement performance; the Boxing Day clash may have been Newcastle's first Premier League game in more than six weeks, but the visitors raced into a commanding lead after just 32 minutes following goals from Chris Wood, Miguel Almiron and Joelinton.
No wonder Rodgers was disappointed with how lethargic Leicester started the game and how his side were not aggressive enough out of possession in the opening stages in particular. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall agreed - going as far as to say Newcastle looked like they 'wanted it more' - and the Leicester midfielder did not need telling after the game.
The Newcastle United test Eddie Howe laid down to his players in Leicester dressing room
Eddie Howe set his players a test of resolve before the trip to Leicester City - and they pass it with ease after powering into a 3-0 lead after 32 minutes.
Howe knows there will be tougher assignments ahead, not least the trip to Arsenal on January 3, but will feel his team can keep pace with the top four in the Premier League.
Speaking after the win over the Foxes, Howe said: "I'd say the performance was up there as one of the best of the season when you consider the opposition and the break. To start in the manner we did was hugely important.
"Credit to the players for how they attacked the game. Leicester was a big test for us and I'm delighted with how the players started."
Newcastle utilise tried and tested tactic as dynamic new partnership pick up where they left off
Miguel Almiron picked up where he left off in the Premier League on Monday as he found the net for the ninth time this season in a Newcastle United shirt. The Paraguayan, enjoying the best season of his Magpies career by a country mile, is proving unstoppable in front of goal as he bids to prove this isn't simply a flash in the pan.
Almiron's progress has been helped significantly by the guidance he has received from Eddie Howe. However, the relationship he has struck up with Bruno Guimaraes on and off the pitch is playing a huge part in the attacker's stellar form this term.
Guimaraes has helped himself to four assists in a Newcastle shirt, with Almiron scoring each of the four goals that followed. The duo have developed a fantastic understanding of how the other plays in only a short time playing in the same side.
James Maddison prediction falls flat with Newcastle issued transfer reminder amid £12m setback
James Maddison dismissed the Newcastle United 'banter' during the World Cup and was confident Leicester City would emerge victorious on Boxing Day. In the end, the Magpies transfer target was a helpless bystander as Eddie Howe's side ran riot at the King Power Stadium.
Brendan Rodgers gave the influential playmaker 'every chance' to overcome a knee injury and feature against his summer suitors. However, the Leicester City boss later admitted in his post-match press conference that the 26-year-old currently has no return date due to a fresh injury concern.
Maddison cut a frustrated figure in the stands as Newcastle raced into a three-goal lead before the break. It was an advantage the visitors never looked like relinquishing, and it resulted in an eighth straight win to lift the Magpies into second spot.
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