Leicester City opened their title defense in the worst possible fashion on Saturday, losing to a newly promoted Hull City side whose own preseason has bordered on the shambolic.
Leicester became the first ever reigning Premier League champions to lose their opening game, and they’ve been defeated by the early favorites for relegation, Hull City.
Leicester’s far-reaching preseason, including matches against Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, doesn’t appear to have sufficiently readied the East Midlands club.
Jamie Vardy missed a number of chances. Photo: @FootballFunnys | Twitter
The loss of N’Golo Kante was painfully evident for Leicester, Hull City running rampant across the Foxes midfield on a glorious August day at the KC Stadium.
Robert Huth’s suspension was also acutely felt by Leicester. Hull City’s first goal was the result of a failure to clear their own defensive lines, Adama Diomande redirecting a Abel Hernandez shot into goal.
Riyad Mahrez leveled for Leicester a minute after halftime, but Robert Snodgrass quickly reestablished Hull’s lead.
Claudio Ranieri’s preseason target of a top-10 finish looks more and more realistic. Having lost their manager and hardly invested in their squad over the summer, Hull still managed to gather three points against the champions of England.
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