Leicester, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Leonardo Ulloa scored a goal in each half to help Leicester City continue its great escape with a 3-0 win over Newcastle at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
Ulloa struck in the opening minute of the match and Wes Morgan added a second goal in the 17th before Ulloa scored from the penalty spot early in the second half to make it 3-0.
Newcastle then had two players sent off in the final 30 minutes as both Mike Williamson and Daryl Janmaat saw red, leaving the Magpies with an eighth successive defeat and dragging the club deeper into the relegation battle.
Leicester, meanwhile, continues to head in the other direction and the Foxes have now claimed five wins from their past six games to remain one point above the drop zone.
The contrast in form between the two sides was evident straight from the kickoff as Newcastle gave the ball away and Leicester's Marc Albrighton took advantage by sending a cross to the front of goal for Ulloa to head home.
Leicester immediately looked to add a second goal and it came with 17 minutes on the clock as Albrighton's free kick eluded Ulloa but was finished off inside the box by Morgan.
Newcastle managed to generate a few chances toward the end of the first half, but any momentum gained was quickly lost after the break when Emmanuel Riviere brought down Leicester's Marcin Wasilewski inside the penalty area.
Ulloa stepped forward and made no mistake with his spot kick, and Newcastle came apart from there.
Albrighton wasted a fantastic chance to make it 4-0 before Williamson picked up a second yellow card for a high challenge on Jamie Vardy.
And shortly before the final whistle, Janmaat also received his marching orders as he too was booked for the second time after a poor tackle on Vardy.
Despite the win, Leicester is still very much in a battle for survival as both Aston Villa and Sunderland also collected vital wins.
Villa used a pair of first-half goals from Christian Benteke to hold off Everton, 3-2, while Sunderland topped Southampton, 2-1, as Jordi Gomez converted two penalty kicks for the Black Cats.
Sunderland remains in 18th and one point from safety, while Villa is two points above the drop zone. Those results also put even more pressure on Newcastle and Hull City, who have been pulled back into the mire.
Liverpool moved to within four points of Manchester United for the final Champions League spot after a 2-1 win over QPR thanks to an 87th-minute goal from Steven Gerrard, while United sustained a 1-0 loss at home to West Bromwich after Robin van Persie failed to convert a second-half penalty kick for the hosts.
Also on Saturday, Swansea City got goals from Jefferson Montero and Ki Sung- Yueng in the final 13 minutes to beat Stoke City, 2-0, while West Ham topped 10-man Burnley, 1-0, on a penalty kick from Mark Noble in the first half, leaving the last-place Clarets on the brink of relegation.
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