Following a humiliating 5-2 loss at high-flying Brighton, bottom-of-the-table Leicester could not relieve manager Brendan Rodgers of the building strain.
The faltering Foxes suffered their fifth straight Premier League loss due to Leandro Trossard’s second-half goal and two goals from Alexis Mac Allister—a penalty and a remarkable late free-kick.
After a Luke Thomas own goal and a Moises Caicedo goal cancelled out Kelechi Iheanacho’s first-minute plan at the Amex Stadium, Patson Daka’s goal brought the visitors level at the break.
However, they were outmatched for the whole second half and have now collected only one point from a possible 18, causing a ‘Rodgers Out’ banner to be unfurled in the angry away end after the game. You can watch the entire incident on cakhiatv.
A fantastic long-range goal by Mac Allister against Enock Mwepu was disallowed for offside after a lengthy VAR review, and City would have lost by a more significant margin if it hadn’t been.
Brighton’s well-deserved victory strengthens their hold on fourth place after their resounding response to their first loss of the season against Fulham in midweek.
Following a challenging start to the season and a difficult transfer window, Leicester manager Rodgers acknowledged that his club’s main goal was to escape relegation this week.
Closing on the due date, Rodgers reacted to Thursday’s 1-0 setback to Manchester United by bringing back forward the combination of Iheanacho and Daka. However, Wout Faes could not play in Sussex because he did not acquire a visa in time.
Since their unexpected championship victory in 2016, the away team has never finished worse than 12th, and they got off to a great start only 51 seconds in. Youri Tielemans dispossessed Solly March on the left wing, and after Harvey Barnes moved the ball along, Daka passed it across the goal for an easy tap-in from Iheanacho.
The mocking shout “we are staying up” from Leicester’s travelling supporters in response to the game’s quick start was quickly muted as the Seagulls altered the tide of the match.
By heading a floating cross from teammate Albion wing-back Trossard across goal in the 10th minute, March made up for his early mistake and forced Foxes defender Thomas to deflect the ball into his net.
Just five minutes later, the Seagulls eked out a victory. This was due to another Leicester error. Near the midway point, James Maddison negligently turned over the ball, enabling Mwepu to advance and find Caicedo, who firmly finished into the bottom-left corner.
After seeming to be in control, Brighton unintentionally handed Leicester a goal in the 33rd minute to draw even. Brighton supporters mocked Rodgers with cries of “you’re going fired in the morning.”
After Tielemans’ perfectly weighted ball foiled Lewis Dunk’s retreating over the top, Barnes quickly cut off Adam Webster’s errant long pass. Daka raced away to put past Robert Sanchez comfortably.
Brighton had the most vigorous defence in the division before the game started, but shortly before halftime, Sanchez stopped Barnes’ powerful shot to save Brighton from falling again. But from that point on, things only got worse for the Foxes.
Two minutes after the break, Mac Allister’s thunderbolt gave the Seagulls the impression that they had reclaimed the lead.
However, the spectacular 25-yard drive into the top-left corner was disallowed when referee Tony Harrington examined the video on the pitch-side monitor on premier league live.
Brighton’s fans vented their anger with colourful language, but they could not stop their team’s victory in the 64th minute.
Pascal Gross slipped in the bustling Trossard due to persistent pressure, but he didn’t panic and landed the ball in the bottom-right corner. The Seagulls swiftly increased their lead by double. Brossard cheated his way past Wilfred Ndidi with a fantastic display of skill before being pulled down. Still, Mac Allister made up for his previous disappointment by coolly converting down the centre from the penalty spot.
Deep into extra time, Mac Allister twisted a beautiful free-kick from range into the top-left corner, insulting Leicester’s injury, which never posed a danger of a comeback.
