Leicester City look doomed to relegation after their losing and scoreless run continued with defeat at home to Manchester United.
Goals either side of half-time from Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho, plus a late strike from Bruno Fernandes, consigned City to sixth loss in a row, and a 13th in 14 outings under Ruud van Nistelrooy.
In front of goal, City failed to find the net for a sixth straight league match, and a seventh in a row at home, their last King Power goal coming in early December.
But the key stat is that City are nine points off safety with nine games to go, and will require an even more miraculous comeback than in their great escape season 10 years ago, when they recovered from seven points back at the same stage.
Impressed that his side looked like a “proper” team even in defeat at Chelsea, van Nistelrooy stayed true to his word and kept the back-five system.
He named the same 11 players too, the first time he has selected an unchanged line-up in the Premier League. The one change to the squad was on the bench, where the injured Ricardo Pereira was replaced by Kasey McAteer.
Having set a top-flight record for six consecutive home losses to nil in their last King Power Stadium, even getting on the scoresheet would have been an achievement for City, and they nearly did so inside four minutes.
The ball bounced kindly for Wilfred Ndidi, who threaded it through to Jamie Vardy. The number nine had peeled off his defender well, but struck at goal on the stretch, Andre Onana parrying away.
For the first 25 minutes, City had limited United to shots from distance. But with the individual quality the visitors possess, it’s not a surefire tactic for success, and Christian Eriksen nearly punished City with a vicious, curling strike at goal from 25 yards that bounced off the inside of the post.
Then came the United opener. It was a catalogue of errors from City’s perspective. First, Conor Coady scrambled for the ball up the pitch but ultimately lost it, and was then out of position.
Boubakary Soumare had dropped back in to cover but couldn’t sort out his feet to cut out Fernandes’ pass.
Then with Hojlund racing through, Wout Faes decided to cover the space in the box rather than close down the Dane, allowing the striker to end his three-month goal drought with a strike into the corner.
A blocked Patson Daka shot was all City mustered in response before the break, another half ending without a goal.
City needed a big second half to turn the game around and to give themselves any hope of survival. They didn’t deliver.
Garnacho thought he’d scored just before the hour when teed up by Hojlund on the break, the Argentinian denied by a late offside flag.
But he did have his goal 10 minutes later, Victor Kristiansen and Vardy failing to clear, Garnacho spinning and shooting instinctively, Mads Hermansen unable to keep it out despite getting a hand to it.
City had one good chance to at least get on the scoresheet. Vardy broke clear off his man and teed up substitute Facundo Buonanotte, but while his shot looked destined for the net, Matthijs De Ligt had other ideas, diving in to block.
As the stands emptied with no hope of a comeback, Fernandes added to the misery, spinning a shot into the far corner after Diogo Dalot’s cut-back.
Vardy had another shot saved by Onana at the death, but the wait for a goal to cheer, and the wait for a win to celebrate, goes on. They look destined for the drop.
Mads Hermansen: He saved the long-range shots well and cleverly ducked out under the ball when Eriksen’s shot bounced off the post. Could he have done better with Garnacho’s goal? He was unsighted and it flashed in, but having got a hand to it, he will be disappointed. 5
James Justin: He was solid enough in the first half, offering an outlet on the right and defending his flank well. But in the second half, his passing was poor, and it felt like he lost the ball every time it came to him. 4
Wout Faes: He showed an utter lack of awareness and decisiveness for the Hojlund goal, choosing to mark the empty space rather than close down the striker. It was bizarre defending, and costly too. He was okay after that. 3
Conor Coady: Put in a crunching tackle on Hojlund early on, but was caught well up the pitch for the first goal, and he’s the one man in the defence that can’t do that. Again, he was fine after that. 4
Luke Thomas: Probably City’s best player. He was strong in the tackle and pressed forward well, winning his duels. He passed the ball reasonably well too. 6
Victor Kristiansen: He charged down a clearance to set up Daka’s chance at the end of the first half and he looked at his best when he could be terrier-like. But didn’t really offer much on the ball. 5
Wilfred Ndidi: He made runs down the right consistently, but the end product in terms of a decent cross was non-existent. In the middle, he didn’t impose himself like he can. 4
Boubakary Soumare: Simultaneously City’s best and worst player. At times, he showed off great feet and an excellent drive on the ball, rushing forward into space. But he also gave the ball away to set up United counters, while he didn’t sort out his feet quickly enough to cut out Fernandes’ pass for the first goal. 5
Bilal El Khannouss: He pressed well early on, biting at ankles. But on the ball, he tried far too hard to make something happen, and kept giving it away. 4
Patson Daka: You cannot accuse him of lacking effort. He will chase lost causes. But otherwise this was a very poor outing for Daka, whose touch let him down time and time again, while he failed to connect cleanly with his one chance to score and made a poor decision to shoot from range with City in a promising position. 3
Jamie Vardy: He peeled off defenders well, again went close by forcing Onana into a couple of decent saves and then set up Buonanotte for his good chance. The lack of goals is not for a lack of effort from the number nine. 6
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