Ruud van Nistelrooy’s unbeaten run as Leicester City manager came to an end as his side were heavily beaten by Newcastle United.
A Jacob Murphy brace was also added to by goals from Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak as the hosts dominated at St James’ Park.
Some Leicester fans felt Guimaraes should’ve been sent off in the first half but even still, it would’ve done little to change the Foxes’ fortunes around.
There was some disappointing displays from Leicester players all across the pitch, but there will be one stat that will leave Van Nistelrooy less than impressed.
Leicester midfield duo take 60 minutes to make a tackle
With Boubakary Soumare, Wilfred Ndidi and Harry Winks all absent for the Foxes, the chance was there for Hamza Choudhury and Oliver Skipp to impress and show they are also worthy of a starting role.
Instead, the two were among the worst on the pitch for the East Midlanders, as proved by one stat.
It took until the hour mark for either one of Skipp or Choudhury to make a tackle in the game as they were overran in midfield and failed to get control at all.
Choudhury was hooked and with youngster Henry Cartwright the only other option on the bench, Van Nistelrooy will be hoping some of his key first-teamers will return for the crunch game against Wolves next week.
Hamza Choudhury and Oliver Skipp’s Leicester City performance in numbers
According to Sofascore, Skipp and Choudhury were among two of the worst players in the Foxes’ side at St James’ Park on Saturday.
Skipp was handed a 6.2 rating whereas the Leicester academy graduate received a 6.5 rating before being replace by Caleb Okoli.
| Stats | Oliver Skipp | Hamza Choudhury |
| Minutes played | 94 | 59 |
| Tackles | 1 | 0 |
| Ground duels won | 1/2 | 1/3 |
| Aerial duels won | 1/1 | 0 |
| Sofascore rating | 6.2 | 6.5 |
Given that Soumare will be back from suspension next week and there’s hope that Winks will also be back in contention, it would be no surprise to see a new central midfield duo deployed next week.