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Cape Town - Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez was delighted to record a third successive Premier League victory with the 2-1 defeat of an inconsistent Leicester City on Saturday afternoon.
Jonjo Shelvey opened the scoring at the King Power Stadium on 18 minutes with his first Premier League goal for the club. Ayoze Perez added a second in the 75th minute while Jamie Vardy was on target for an 83rd minute consolation.
The result lifted Newcastle onto 38 points in 10th place, ten clear of the relegation places, with Leicester in eighth on 43 points.
After the game, Benitez told Sky Sports: "I am really pleased. The players worked really hard, fighting for every single ball.
"Every single player was trying their best and that is what you need to do if you want to stay up.
"Obviously you always have a game plan, but it is down to the players - and they executed it very well. We managed a team with very good players really well.
"There were three, four tackles going in at once - it was a proper English match."
It won't be easy for Newcastle to get a result next week though as they face an in-form Arsenal side.
"We are very close, but still need two more points. Obviously we are closer than three hours ago. We will see next week," said the Toon boss.
