Coventry City thrashed Newcastle United 4-1 at the Coventry Building Society Arena on Monday night, sealing a first Premier League home win at the ground and climbing from 19th to 14th with back-to-back league victories under Frank Lampard.
Jack Rudoni's early penalty, Sidiki Cherif's first Sky Blues goal and late strikes from substitutes Ellis Simms and Stephen Mfuni punished Matthias Jaissle's side, who had eyed a move into the top four. Sven Botman's thunderous reply briefly threatened a comeback before Coventry pulled clear again.
Match facts
- Result: Coventry City 4-1 Newcastle United (half-time 1-0)
- Competition: Premier League, Matchday 6
- Venue: Coventry Building Society Arena
- Attendance: 30,811
- Scorers: Coventry City - Jack Rudoni 6' (pen), Sidiki Cherif 48', Ellis Simms 81', Stephen Mfuni 86'; Newcastle United - Sven Botman 70'
- Red cards: None
- Next: Coventry City visit Tottenham Hotspur on Monday 19 October; Newcastle United host Aston Villa on Saturday (17:30 UK)
How the match unfolded
Newcastle made a nightmare start in the sixth minute. Goalkeeper Lukáš Horníček failed to claim a loose ball in the box and brought down Cherif, who was making his first Premier League start after joining from Fenerbahçe. Rudoni stepped up and sent Horníček the wrong way for Coventry's first Premier League goal on home soil for more than 25 years — and the club's first at the CBS Arena in the top flight.
Jaissle's visitors dominated possession and created the clearer chances before the break. Harvey Barnes saw efforts blocked or saved, Matias Fernandez-Pardo wasted a promising opening from Jacob Murphy's cross, and Bobby Thomas cleared off the line twice — including after Fernandez-Pardo rounded Carl Rushworth late in the half.
Three minutes into the second half Cherif doubled the lead. Newcastle could not clear a long throw, and the 19-year-old smashed a powerful first-time shot through a crowd of bodies into the bottom corner for his first Coventry goal.
Botman gave the Magpies hope in the 70th minute, carrying the ball forward and blasting an unstoppable strike from the edge of the area into the top corner — his first goal since February. Coventry refused to sit back. In the 81st minute Joelinton, on for his first competitive outing since May, lost possession on the edge of his own box; Simms, just on as a substitute, drove a deflected finish beyond Horníček.
Mfuni, the 18-year-old full-back on loan from Manchester City, sealed it in the 86th minute, driving into the area and bending a finish into the far corner for his first senior goal.
What the result means
The win is Coventry's second in a row after beating Nottingham Forest before the international break, lifts them to six points and takes them clear of the bottom three. It is also their first Premier League victory at the CBS Arena and their first top-flight home win since 2001.
Newcastle remain on eight points after a second successive 4-1 away defeat, having also lost by that scoreline at Leeds. A win would have moved them into fourth.
Elsewhere on Matchday 6, Manchester City stayed perfect with a 3-0 win at Liverpool, while Chelsea routed Bournemouth 5-1.
Reaction
Lampard called it a "complete performance" and urged his side to keep their feet on the ground. "It's so hard to win. We played like the team that we want to be here," he told Sky Sports. "There is so much spirit and energy in the group."
Jaissle told BBC Sport the scoreline was "punishment in this league" after Newcastle controlled long spells but were "not clean" in both boxes. "It's something we need to learn fast," he said.
Coventry travel to winless Tottenham next Monday looking for a third straight win. Newcastle aim to respond at home to Aston Villa on Saturday.
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