Ruud van Nistelrooy highlights the one area that cost Leicester City in Newcastle hammering

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Leicester City were thrashed 4-0 by Newcastle United on Saturday.

Goals from Bruno Guimaraes, Alexander Isak and a Jacob Murphy brace condemned Ruud van Nistelrooy to his first defeat as Leicester boss.

Leicester fans were confused as to why he had started Kasey McAteer while other Foxes fans felt Guimaraes should’ve been sent off.

Overall, it was a disappointing display from several Leicester players, but Van Nistelrooy believes there was one element of their game that let them down.

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Ruud van Nistelrooy admits to Leicester City set piece concern

Defeat at St James’ Park brought an end to new Leicester boss’ unbeaten start at his new club.

With four points from his first two games, this was deemed the toughest test of his tenure so far and unfortunately, it coincided with Leicester’s worst performance of the season.

Despite the tough day out, Van Nistelrooy said he was proud of his players, but did find himself disappointed with the way his team defended set pieces, as three of Newcastle’s four goals came via corners or free-kicks.

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He said: “The team tried and did the best they could. The game was decided in the detail. The first half was a set-piece and the second one too, straight after half-time. Those are details.

“Then you’re 2-0 down away at Newcastle. If you want to have a chance on the result, you have to take care of these things. If not, it’s going to be a really hard afternoon.

“We defended bad. On the ball was our challenge. We weren’t structured enough to get some good possessions going and we had some ball losses that cost us in the counter-attacks. Set-pieces was a heavy influence today on the result.”

Leicester face must-win fixture before Christmas

As Van Nistelrooy licks the wounds from a heavy loss, attention will now turn to next weekend’s game against Wolves.

In what will be the final game before the festive period, the stakes couldn’t be much higher for the Foxes.

Games against Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa follow after the home clash against fellow relegation rivals Wolves.

With Gary O’Neil’s side sliding down the table, three points must be seen as a must and would provide some breathing room between themselves and the bottom three.