Soccer

Brazilian contingent to the fore as Newcastle ease past Norwich

Premier League round-up: Leicester held to a goalless draw against Aston Villa

Joelinton of Newcastle United celebrates after scoring their side’s first goal during the Premier League match against Norwich City. Photograph: Marc Atkins/Getty

Sat Apr 23 2022 - 17:13

Norwich 0 Newcastle 3

Newcastle United’s Brazilian contingent sprung to the fore as Joelinton scored a brace and Bruno Guimaraes netted one more in an emphatic 3-0 Premier League victory over struggling Norwich City at Carrow Road on Saturday.

The win moves Newcastle into the top half of the table and is another sign of their rapid improvement under manager Eddie Howe, who steered the side to their first league victory at Norwich in 28 years.

But their hosts slipped closer to relegation to the Championship and are now eight points from safety with five matches left to play.

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After a bright start in which forward Teemu Pukki should have given them the lead, they capitulated with three pieces of poor defending.

Joelinton opened the scoring on 35 minutes with his first goal since February as Norwich failed to clear a low pass across the box, leaving the midfielder to sweep the ball into the back of the net from 12 yards.

His second was a much simpler finish as Jacob Murphy burst into the Norwich box under little pressure and passed the ball to the back post for the Brazilian to tap in.

Any hopes of a home comeback were doused early in the second half as the home side were again their own worst enemies. Goalkeeper Tim Krul played a poor pass out of defence that was intercepted by Guimaraes, who chipped the ball back over the gloveman in style.

Leicester 0 Aston Villa 0

A below-par Leicester City played out a 0-0 draw against Aston Villa at home in the Premier League on Saturday, a result that ended a four-match losing streak for Steven Gerrard’s visiting side.

Leicester looked more likely to open the scoring in the early stages but fashioned few clear openings, with James Maddison’s curling freekick the Foxes’ best effort in an uninspiring first half from both sides.

Villa showed more adventure after the break as Ollie Watkins proved to be a constant threat with his darting runs beyond the Leicester backline but the visitors failed to trouble Kasper Schmeichel in goal.

Leicester sent on Jamie Vardy for Patson Daka in the 71st minute for his first appearance since early March but the striker barely made an impression as Villa held out for a point to move a step closer to safety.

Leicester are 10th in the standings on 42 points, while Villa are 15th, nine points clear of the relegation zone.

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