Jamie Vardy bagged a second-half brace as Leicester climbed to third in the Premier League by crushing 10-man Newcastle 5-0 to turn up the heat on Steve Bruce.

The Foxes were on top from the moment Ricardo Pereira opened the scoring just after a quarter of an hour but Isaac Hayden’s red card on the stroke of half-time was the catalyst for the floodgates to open after the interval.

Vardy was the principle beneficiary as he found the net twice, either side of Paul Dummett’s unfortunate own goal, before Wilfred Ndidi struck late on as Leicester claimed their fourth win from their last five top-flight matches.

While the midfielder protested referee Craig Pawson’s decision, with Lascelles having to lead his team-mate down the tunnel, replays showed his contact with Praet’s standing leg was high despite winning the ball.

The dismissal prompted Newcastle head coach Steve Bruce to bring on midfielder Ki Sung-Yeung for Muto and the visitors retreated further into their shell.

They fell further behind in the 54th minute when Vardy’s first-time strike from an acute angle squeezed underneath Dubravka, who was beaten far too easily at his near post.

There was little the Newcastle goalkeeper could do for Leicester’s third three minutes later, wrong-footed after Praet’s attempted cross deflected off Dummett and trickled into the net.

Andy Carroll was introduced for his second appearance since rejoining Newcastle over the summer but the onslaught continued as Vardy grabbed his second from close range.

Left completely unmarked, Vardy was left with the simplest of headers from substitute Marc Albrighton’s inch-perfect left-wing cross to deepen Newcastle’s misery in the 64th minute.

Leicester seemed content not to rub further salt in the wound but Ndidi scored their fifth in the final minute, collecting the ball with his back to goal in the area before dispatching beyond Dubravka.