TWELVE points clear of the relegation zone with three games to play, and with 18th-placed Fulham only able to claim a maximum of 12 points from their remaining four matches. Safety isn’t mathematically guaranteed yet, but surely even Newcastle United cannot mess this up from here.

Admittedly, they briefly threatened to turn an unassailable position into a fraught finale last night, with Leicester scoring twice inside the final ten minutes and Martin Dubravka producing a superb stoppage-time save to prevent things becoming even more tense, but the chaotic climax should not detract from the quality of an away display that was surely the Magpies’ best of the season.

Steve Bruce’s side scored four goals on their travels for the first time since they swept aside Bournemouth at a similar stage of last season, and were full value for their victory over a Leicester side that are competing for the Champions League.

Joe Willock opened the scoring with his fourth goal in the space of four games, Paul Dummett added a second with a first-half header, and a resurgent Callum Wilson took his tally for the season to 12 as he netted twice after the break.

Leicester were ripped apart, with Newcastle’s rapier-sharp counter-attacks punching a series of holes in the Foxes’ rearguard. Wilson looked back to his best after his injury absence, Willock delivered yet another top-class attacking display that belied his tender years and both Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron caused a series of problems as they roamed around in the final third.

The prospect of the quartet playing together throughout the whole of next season is a mouthwatering one, although it will only come to fruition if Newcastle are able to sign Willock on a permanent basis this summer.

The only downside to the youngster’s performances over the last month is that they might have persuaded Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to hold on to him. At the very least, the 20-year-old’s goalscoring record will tempt the Arsenal board to add another couple of million to their asking price.

Willock's drive and energy were evident throughout last night’s victory, with his recall transforming the approach of a midfield unit that had looked listless and laboured in last weekend’s home defeat to Arsenal. With Almiron buzzing either side of Willock at the heart of midfield, and both Wilson and Saint-Maximin constantly looking to break beyond a Leicester defence that was hastily remodelled after Jonny Evans picked up a foot injury in the warm-up, Newcastle’s first-half dominance in particular was remarkable.

The Magpies were two goals to the good at the break, but it is no exaggeration to suggest they could have been three or four clear, such was the extent of their dominance on the counter-attack.

Even before Willock opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, Newcastle carved out three decent chances that served notice of their threat. Wilson’s attempt to release Saint-Maximin through the middle was thwarted by Caglar Soyuncu and Federico Fernandez glanced a header wide from the edge of the six-yard box, but those missed opportunities were nothing compared to the chance that was spurned by Saint-Maximin six minutes before Willock scored.

Jacob Murphy’s through ball released Wilson down the right, and Saint-Maximin looked certain to score when his fellow forward squared into his path. The Frenchman side-footed goalwards, but his shot was marginally too close to Kasper Schmeichel, who thrust out his leg to make a fine save.

The next time Newcastle threatened though, even Schmeichel’s reflexes were unable to save the Foxes. A Magpies attack looked to have broken down when Dummett’s pass was cut out by Soyuncu, but in an attempting a Cruyff turn, the Turkish centre-half merely played himself into trouble.

Willock stole possession, and while the youngster still had plenty to do as he broke into the left of the box, he calmly slotted a low finish past Schmeichel and into the corner.

Leicester were already at sixes and sevens by that stage, but the night might have been markedly different had Dubravka not made the first of three crucial first-half saves three minutes after Willock scored. Wesley Fofana met Youri Tielemans’ free-kick with a powerful downward header, but Dubravka made an excellent point-blank stop.

The value of the save was accentuated nine minutes later, with Newcastle doubling their lead from the most unlikely of sources. Prior to last night, Dummett’s last Newcastle goal had come in a 3-3 draw with Manchester United in January 2016. He had rarely looked like finding the net in the intervening five-and-a-half years, but he out-jumped Fofana to meet Matt Ritchie’s corner, and while Schmeichel got a hand to his header, he was unable to keep the ball out.

Dummett’s success enabled Newcastle to take a two-goal lead into the interval, although their advantage owed much to two more fine saves from Dubravka. First, the Magpies goalkeeper got down brilliantly to keep out Kelechi Iheanacho’s first-time strike, then, on the stroke of half-time, he stood tall to deny Jamie Vardy after the Leicester striker broke into the box and attempted to lob him.

Dubravka suffered a couple of scares at the start of the second half as Leicester attempted to rally. James Maddison's deflected free-kick drifted just wide of the post, and while Wilfred Ndidi should have scored from the subsequent corner when he rose unopposed six yards out, he failed to find the target with his header.

The danger after the break was that Newcastle would sit too deep and invite Leicester on to them. They did, to a degree, but crucially they continued to carry a threat on the break, and their counter-attacking capabilities paid dividends as they claimed a third goal shortly after the hour mark.

Ritchie won the ball on the left of the Magpies defence, but while the wing-back tried to release Wilson beyond the Leicester defence, his ball should have been cut out by Timothy Castagne. It was for a second, but when the Foxes centre-half tried to stab a back-pass towards Schmeichel, his dreadful effort was cut out by Wilson. Having calmly rounded Schmeichel, the Newcastle striker stroked a side-footed finish into the net.

Nine minutes later, and Wilson was making it 4-0 with his 12th goal of the season. His first effort struck the inside of the post after Almiron released him into the box, but from the acutest of angles, he slid home the rebound.

Marc Albrighton pulled a goal back for Leicester with ten minutes left, firing a first-time finish into the top corner after he was teed up by Vardy, and there was the hint of the most unlikely of comebacks when Iheanacho stepped inside Ritchie and fired home to make it 4-2 with three minutes left.

Things might have been even more nervy had Ayoze Perez scored in stoppage time, but while the former Newcastle forward angled a close-range shot goalwards, Dubravka made his final crucial save to keep out the substitute's shot.