Leicester City 1 – 2 Sunderland: Misery for the foxes at the Stadium of Light

Leicester City traveled up the M1 this afternoon to visit Sunderland at the Stadium of Light however the League champions failed to come pick up any points.

Leicester City were traveling to Sunderland under pressure to come up with the goods following their poor league form, form that continues to cause issues for Claudio Ranieri.

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Last time out in the Premier League, Leicester City managed to hold onto a 0 – 0 draw against Southampton at the King Power.

Going into the match, Sunderland were dead bottom of the Premier League in 20th place however the foxes were not much better off, just 2 points ahead of the relegation zone in 14th.

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Following the minute long silence in respect for the tragic events that have taken place this week, the first 20 minutes saw Claudio Ranieri’s men hardly touch the ball.

Sunderland were running rings around the foxes but failed to capitalise on their possession with Defoe missing a sitter following Victor Anichebe’s brilliant cross.

Fans were looking forward to see Islam Slimani back in the starting 11 following his injury issues over the past month however it took around half an hour for the towering Algerian to really make his mark on the game.

Shockingly the closest Leicester came in the first 45 minutes was a mishit cross 3 minutes into added time where Fuchs’ cross left Pickford as a spectator as the ball rattle the crossbar.

As the second half got underway, Leicester City’s failure to capitalise on their chances on in the first half came to bite them in the backside.

Sunderland’s routine corner slammed into Huth’s knee as the ball fell into the back of his own net. In the defence of Huth, there was not a lot he could do about it, it was just unfortunate.

Things went from bad to worse for Leicester as Sunderland’s captain Jermaine Defoe slotted away the second of the night. The veteran striker now has 4 in 5 games for the Black Cats.

Just as David Moyes thought that his job was done, Leicester managed to give themselves a chance as Shinji Okazaki put the ball in the back of the net.

A brilliant change of pace from Demarai Gray gave him the chance to fire a cross onto Okazaki’s head. One more reason for the youngster to be in the starting 11. What more does he need to do to earn his place?

As 90 minutes were closing in, Leicester were asking the question, knocking on Sunderland’s door but sadly for the foxes, it was too little, too late, mainly due to Jordan Pickford’s heroic saves in the 94th minute which saw him deny Wes Morgan.

As the final whistle blew it meant another loss on the road and another 4-4-2 that just isn’t working, another midfield pairing that is uninspiring and another performance from Mahrez which leaves fans wondering why he is still in the starting 11.

It’s a common phrase in football that no player is bigger than the team and that no player is too big to be dropped, so it begs the question of why is Mahrez still starting every week despite fans calling for a change.

Often lackadaisical and uninspiring, he slows the play down and offers very little going forward and perhaps being dropped is the wake-up call the Algerian superstar needs.

Good news for Leicester is that Mendy is back in the equation following his long-term injury which he picked up against Arsenal in Leicester’s second game of the season.

When Mendy is match-fit, Claudio Ranieri will hope that he will bring balance to the side’s midfield after failing to find a suitable pairing during his absence.

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Life on the road for Leicester has been rough, without a single win this season away from home, something needs to be changed or Ranieri may be facing a relegation battle.