Leicester lose season opener

Leicester lose season opener

Leicester City's Danny Simpson and Hull City's Adama Diomande vie for the ball in the Premier League season opener at KCOM Stadium in Hull on Saturday. (Reuters Photo)
Leicester City's Danny Simpson and Hull City's Adama Diomande vie for the ball in the Premier League season opener at KCOM Stadium in Hull on Saturday. (Reuters Photo)

HULL: Defending champions Leicester made English Premier League history again on Saturday but it was not the sort of history the Thai-owned side had in mind.

By losing 2-1 to newly promoted Hull City, the Foxes became the first defending champions to lose the opening match of the following season since the EPL began play in 1992. Over that period, champion sides recorded 19 wins and four draws. 

The last champions in football's top flight to lose their opener the following season were Arsenal in 1989-90. 

Robert Snodgrass thumped home a left-footed winner in the 57th minute for Hull after Leicester, who lost only three games last season, failed to clear their lines.

Adama Diomande had given Hull a 1-0 lead against the run of play in first-half stoppage time, leaping in tandem with Abel Hernandez to meet Kasper Schmeichel's punched clearance from a Curtis Davies header.

Riyad Mahrez responded from the penalty spot two minutes into the second half for Leicester after Tom Huddlestone had clipped Demarai Gray on the edge of the area, before Snodgrass made it 2-1, providing some respite for Hull, who had only 13 fit first-team players available.

Entering Saturday's match, Hull had been winless in their last five league meetings with Leicester, drawing two matches and losing three. Leicester had not conceded a goal in any of their last three league matches against Hull.

Leicester Manager Claudio Ranieri said earlier this week that Leicester repeating last year's fairytale, one of the most improbable rises in the history of team sport, would probably be "impossible".

He also spent most of last season downplaying the successes of the side owned by Thai duty-free billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, mainly to keep his players focused.

“The big teams are ready to fight for the title and we are ready to defend our title,” he said this week.

“But we know it is a different gap now. Last season we did something unbelievable, but now the big teams are back, I am sure. Now we have to fight. Our target is 40 points, then see what happens."

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (3)