Leicester vs. Newcastle: Score, Reaction from 2016 Premier League Match

Leicester City re-established their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table with a 1-0 win over manager Rafael Benitez's Newcastle United at the King Power Stadium on Monday.

Shinji Okazaki opened the scoring for the Foxes after 24 minutes, his spectacular overhead kick proving too good for Newcastle goalkeeper Rob Elliot.  

The Magpies had some decent opportunities to equalise in the second half, and there were some encouraging signs for new boss Benitez. But Leicester held the visitors out to claim another valuable win.

Both clubs provided their respective starting lineups ahead of the Monday clash:

"

City: Schmeichel; Simpson, Huth, Morgan (c), Fuchs; Mahrez, Kante, Drinkwater, Albrighton; Okazaki, Vardy. #LeiNew

— Leicester City (@LCFC) March 14, 2016"

The north-east side had the better of the opening exchanges, half-chances falling to Ayoze Perez and Jack Colback as Newcastle looked to pressure the league leaders.

In fact, the Foxes looked a little sluggish in the first 20 minutes, and they failed to really trouble the Newcastle goal.

However, Okazaki took advantage of Leicester's first real chance as he netted a spectacular bicycle kick to give his side the lead in the 24th minute.

Jamie Vardy headed the ball across the box after a half-cleared free-kick, and the Japanese striker improvised spectacularly to find the net. The Times' Matt Dickinson provided an auspicious comparison:

Marc Albrighton almost made it 2-0 moments later as he picked up a loose ball and drove towards goal, but his curling effort whistled wide of the target.

Vardy then had an attempt deflected past the post, with Newcastle reeling having gone a goal down.

Benitez's side rediscovered their composure before the break, and Perez forced a save from goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. But the Magpies still trailed at half-time.

After the break, Leicester's chances were few and far between as the visitors attempted to get back in the game, but N'Golo Kante was a particular thorn in Newcastle's side as he cropped up all over the pitch, per Squawka Football:

Moussa Sissoko had a glorious chance just before the hour to either shoot himself or set up an onrushing team-mate after a terrific run down the left, but he could find neither Andros Townsend nor Daryl Janmaat with his poorly paced pass.

Perez then had the chance to feed Jack Colback on the overlap but opted to go himself and fired just wide.

It was an encouraging performance from Newcastle, but they could not get themselves back in the game, both Aleksandar Mitrovic and Siem de Jong failing to make anything of Janmaat's excellent low cross with six minutes to go.

The nerves were fraying among the Foxes faithful, though:

And the King Power erupted in celebration and relief when the final whistle eventually went to signal yet another victory in an extraordinary season for manager Claudio Ranieri's side. 

Post-Match Reaction 

Ranieri hailed his team's spirit after its narrow, hard-fought victory, per BBC Sport's Tom Rostance:

"

I was sure it would be this kind of match. Their players showed Rafa their attitude and the Newcastle players are very good. I am sure that they will be safe.

It wasn't the best performance from us but we showed fantastic spirit. We defended very well. We played, and we fight. It wasn't nervy in the second half, the team was so close and compact. 

"

Meanwhile, Benitez said that there were some signs of encouragement despite the defeat, per Rostance: "I will take the positives—we did well, you could see the commitment and the passion. There were a lot of positives, and the team showed that they are convinced they can win. Every game will be important for us."