Leicester shambolic against three-goal Manchester United
Reigning champions Leicester remain only a point above the Premier League's relegation zone, after a 3-0 home loss to Manchester United today.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Juan Mata scored for United.
United took apart Leicester's shambolic defence, giving Jose Mourinho's side a timely shot in the arm as the champions' descent continued.
Few expected Claudio Ranieri's men to scale the same heights as last season's fairytale Premier League triumph, yet few could have foreseen such a drop-off.
Leicester end the weekend just a point off the drop zone after United condemned them to a fourth consecutive top-flight loss, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Juan Mata racking up a 3-0 win as comfortable as it sounds.
Mkhitaryan had already shown flashes of quality during a first half which suddenly burst to life thanks to the Armenia international. The game looked to be drifting towards half-time before the midfielder opened the scoring - and the floodgates - as United then raced into a 3-0 lead. He latched onto Chris Smalling's header to beat Robert Huth to the ball, out pace Wes Morgan and lash past Kasper Schmeichel as the visitors scored three goals in seven minutes either side of the break.
Leicester have failed to score a Premier League goal in 2017 - a run which now extends to over eight-and-a-half hours. Ranieri's side last hit the back of the net in their 1-0 home win over West Ham on New Year's Eve when Islam Slimani scored in the 20th minute. Since then Slimani has gone to and returned from the African Nations Cup with Riyad Mahrez and the Foxes are on a run which has now left the just a point above the bottom three.
Mkhitaryan. The 28-year-old sparked the game to life after a switch into the centre which saw Marcus Rashford move wide and Mkhitaryan play as a number 10. It was a slow start to his career at Old Trafford - something Mkhitaryan admitted - but he showed touch, awareness and a clinical edge to prove he is growing into a United shirt. His pace took him away from Huth and Morgan to score confidently past Schmeichel while his delicious throughball for Mata killed the game early in the second half when United needed to be wary of any Leicester fightback.
Kasper Schmeichel: 5
Danny Simpson: 5
Wes Morgan: 5
Robert Huth: 5
Christian Fuchs: 5
Ahmed Musa: 5
Danny Drinkwater: 5
Wilfred Ndidi: 5
Riyad Mahrez: 5
Shinji Okazaki: 5
Jamie Vardy: 5
Substitutes:
Demarai Gray (for Musa): 5
Andy King (for Okazaki): 5
David de Gea: 6
Antonio Valencia: 7
Eric Bailly: 7
Chris Smalling: 7
Marcos Rojo: 7
Henrikh Mkhitaryan: 8
Paul Pogba: 7
Ander Herrera: 7
Juan Mata: 8
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: 7
Marcus Rashford: 7
Substitutes:
Daley Blind (for Rojo): 7
Marouane Fellaini (for Mata): 6
Ashley Young (for Rashford): 6
Leicester v Derby (Wednesday, FA Cup)
Manchester United v Watford (Saturday 11 February, Premier League)
