Ranieri: A Fantastic Performance

- Jamie Vardy, Leonardo Ulloa and Shinji Okazaki all find the net at St. James’ Park 

- Vardy scored for the 10th consecutive Premier League game to equal Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s record 

- The Foxes move to the top of the league table with a fourth straight win 

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri praised the efforts of his entire team after they produced one of their finest displays of the season to beat Newcastle United 3-0 in the Barclays Premier League at St. James’ Park. 

It was a result that moved the Foxes to the top of the league table with 28 points from just 13 games and one that also saw striker Jamie Vardy score for a record-equalling 10th consecutive Premier League fixture. 

That moved him level with former Manchester United striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s mark – also set against Newcastle United – but it was of course the overall performance that pleased Ranieri. 

“It’s important that we try to win every match,” said Ranieri. “It’s not easy. We pushed a lot in the first half and in the end we scored. I want to see all the team play well. Some journalists tell me Kanté and Drinkwater, but I think all the team played well. 

“We’re top of the league but it’s not important now. I want to see the horses at the end of the race. Now is not important. What’s important for us is we have 28 fewer points to achieve our goal [of 40 points]. Now we are very focused on our goal.” 

Both Leicester City and Newcastle fans applauded Vardy upon making it 1-0 with his record-equalling goal in first half stoppage time. Leonardo Ulloa and Shinji Okazaki added further goals in the second half, but Vardy will take the headlines for his phenomenal run. 

“I’m very happy for his performance,” added Ranieri. “I want to say well done and thank you because when you’re a manager and have a striker that scores goals you’re very happy. It’s a great achievement and I hope he can beat it (the record) in the next match. 

“The team also made a great performance today. It wasn’t easy because after the international break you don’t know what will happen. We had just two little training sessions before the match. It was important to restart well and I’m very glad because we made a fantastic performance today. 

“I want to say thank you to our fans who travelled the country for hours. I hope they enjoyed it today and I’m very happy. 

“I love the English spirit because it’s not important the shirt, it’s how the players play. It was the same when I managed [Gianfranco] Zola. It was good and I want to say thank you to all the fans that clapped Jamie.”