Extra-Time Talking Points: Pushing On, Immense Ndidi & Albrighton Makes His Mark
Speaking on the LCFC Radio show, broadcast live and for free at 6pm BST every Monday after a first team fixture, Matt Elliott, Steve Walsh and Tony Cottee were glowing in their praise of the Foxes.
After Brendan Rodgers' men rose to third with three points against the Magpies, Elliott, Walsh and Cottee highlighted some of the biggest talking points from City's seventh league outing of 2019/20...
Pre-season hopes materialise
Matt Elliott said: "It’s been a week to savour. It’s impressive stuff. The hopes were there in pre-season, but they’ve actually materialised up to now. We’ve got to be mindful that it is still early days, but being third in the league is no mean feat. You’d rather be in the mix now and hoping you can maintain that form, which I do foresee Leicester doing."
Can City now push on?
Tony Cottee said: "Once you’ve made a start like Leicester have made, it’s now about pushing on. We know we’ve got two fantastic teams in that league (Manchester City and Liverpool), but there are four teams who are in transitional periods, which opens up the top six, so it’s good to get points on the board as early as possible."
An 'astonishing' team unit
Steve Walsh said: "There is a contrast with the Tottenham game and the late winner was fantastic and it lit King Power Stadium up. In front of a global audience, (the Newcastle game) was broadcast in over 20 countries, and people will have been watching it thinking: 'wow'. You've got to give the whole team a real pat on the back. The whole team unit has been astonishing. The team can only get better."
The importance of scoring first
Tony Cottee: "Scoring first was important. The second half was about professionalism. When you’re playing against 10 men, it can be really, really difficult at times. Sometimes they put loads of bodies behind the ball. When that second goal went in, you just felt that Leicester were going to push on, score more and deliver a performance."
'Immense' Ndidi
Matt Elliott said: "There were top-class performances throughout. I thought [Wilfred] Ndidi was immense; his presence and the way he was breaking everything up. Newcastle were weak, after having a go early on, but Ndidi was there recovering, breaking things up. He did the simple things right. He’s still only 22 and he’s an established Premier League player now – and a fine one as well."
Albrighton makes his mark
Steve Walsh said: "It was ruthless. When teams go down to 10 men, it's hard, but I think Leicester would still have won against 11. That first goal was important. [Marc] Albrighton came on and played a part in two of the goals and he looked the part. There was so many great performances. All round, I didn't see Newcastle scoring at all."