QPR equalled the worst home defeat in their history as Newcastle United demonstrated just why they are the Championship favourites on a miserable night at Loftus Road
Prompted by former England and Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey, Rafa Benitez’s Magpies gave a footballing masterclass to match Arsenal’s 6-0 win in W12 in the FA Cup back in 2001.
To complete Rangers’ misery they lost James Perch with what looked a serious knee injury in the first half.
Here are five talking points to emerge from a night to forget for QPR.
Hasselbaink's gamble backfires
Eyebrows were raised among QPR fans when the team news was revealed an hour before kick-off.
Conor Washington replaced Sebastian Polter up front with Yeni Ngbakoto coming in for Nasser El Khayati.
The surprising change was bringing in Steven Caulker for Olamide Shodipo, which brought about the confusion.
Were QPR going to play 3-5-2, 4-2-3-1 or stick with 4-4-2? The answer was they persisted with the same formation as against Blackburn with James Perch moving up to the right wing, Nedum Onuoha shifting to right back.
It was that right side that was caught out for Newcastle's opener as a quick Matt Ritchie throw-in set Mitrovic free down the flank. He cut back to Jonjo Shelvey and the midfielder's deflected shot deflected into the net off Karl Henry that wrong-footed Alex Smithies.
Perch's injury led to Pawel Wszolek coming on for his QPR debut in difficult circumstances – 1-0 down against a rampant side.
The Pole couldn't stem the tide either as Rangers were ripped apart before throwing in the towel at the break.
An unwanted record
This defeat matched QPR's worst ever defeat at home when they were beaten by Arsenal in the FA Cup in 2001 and their worst league defeat.
It was truly a night to forget from a Rangers perspective as they were outclassed in every department.
Poor Conor Washington would have hoped to have forced his way into Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's plans but he was left isolated up front on his own.
Sebastian Polter could have made a difference as he could have held the ball up more but
Superb Smithies
Alex Smithies was caught out by a deflection for Newcastle's opener and was unfortunate his save led to the Magpies' second.
That said, he prevented the score from reaching double figures by making some fine saves.
He denied Aleksander Mitrovic's free header by tipping it onto the bar and raced out to deny Ayoze Perez.
While the defence parted like the red sea time and again, Smithies stood firm and, despite conceding five, can have a modicum of satisfaction with his personal performance.
Indeed, he prevented it from being QPR's record home defeat with some fine saves and it is a damning indictment on the rest of the team that he emerges as the best player.
Newcastle best in the division
The only grain of comfort for QPR fans is they won't face sides as good as Newcastle every week.
The Magpies probably boast the best squad the second tier has seen in a generation and they ripped QPR to shreds.
It could have been any scoreline the visitors wanted and they settled for five with 15 minutes remaining when they withdrew Mitrovic and brought DeAndre Yedlin on in his stead.
Fans leaving early
QPR fans showed what they thought of the display against Newcastle by filing out of Loftus Road in a steady stream at half-time.
Yes, they were outclassed by the best team in the Championship but to show an impatience like that feels unneccessary.
That said, it was almost as if the QPR team were with them as they threw in the towel with a disgraceful second half performance.
Those that stayed until the end deserve a medal for getting behind their team.
