Leicester City revived their handy advantage at the top of the Premier League table by beating Newcastle United 1-0 on Monday night.
Claudio Ranieri's Foxes ground out a hard-fought win in Rafa Benitez's first game in charge of the Magpies after replacing Steve McClaren late last week.
Leicester managed to restore their five-point lead over second-placed Tottenham Hotspur thanks to Shinji Okazaki's sublime overhead volley in the first half at the King Power Stadium.
It was a compact Magpies outfit, under the guidance of Benitez, that made life difficult for the Foxes in the early stages but as they have at all times this season, Leicester found a way through, seemingly out of nothing in the 25th minute.
Marc Albrighton clipped a ball into the area which glanced off Steven Taylor, allowing Jamie Vardy to head back into the danger area, which prompted Japan international Okazaki to acrobatically send the ball beyond Rob Elliot for his fifth league goal of the campaign and first at home.
Less than five minutes later, Albrighton had the chance to double his side's advantage but fired wide with a side-footed attempt.
Despite this, Newcastle began to pose a threat when coming forward but were unable to really test Kasper Schmeichel in Leicester's goal.
As the second half progressed, the Toon got a strong foothold into proceedings and actually finished the match with 13 shots to nine but there was little of real quality as Leicester held out, largely through the contributions of defensive midfield pairing N'Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater.
It was yet another crucial result for the East Midlands outfit who are now just eight games from creating history as no club has ever lost the Premier League title having held a five-point lead at this stage of the season.
Ranieri's men will next take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday as Newcastle, sitting second bottom, prepare for a vital Tyne-Wear derby with arch rivals Sunderland at St James' Park on Sunday.
2015/16 Barclays Premier League - season scores
Leicester City: 1 (Shinji Okazaki 25')
Newcastle United: 0
King Power Stadium, Leicester - 31,824