A cold day in Hull for league champions Leicester City

14 August 2016 - 02:00 By The Daily Telegraph

The topsy-turvy English Premier League got off to another upside down start with an overhead kick (or was it?), a controversial penalty and seemingly doomed, in disarray, newly promoted Hull City beating the champions Leicester City. What a start. What the Hull is going on? They only have 13 fit senior players, they have made no signings, they had a makeshift centrehalf in Jake Livermore, they were engulfed in protests against club owners, the Allam family, and they have a caretaker manager in Mike Phelan. But how they deserved this victory.The champions were out-of-sorts, a little out-of-sync, summed up by the performances of captain Wes Morgan - who appeared sluggish - and Jamie Vardy who missed a host of chances while, in midfield, N'golo Kante - sold to Chelsea - was simply missed. Christian Fuchs was fortunate not to be sent off.story_article_left1Hull were outstanding and not least in match-winner Robert Snodgrass - closely followed by captain Curtis Davies - who drove the ball into the net on 57 minutes to win this encounter.It came as Kasper Schmeichel's throw out was intercepted by Ahmed Elmohamady, who exchanged passes with Snodgrass before crossing with the ball, then cut out by Danny Simpson.It fell to Snodgrass who - with Schmeichel unsighted by Simpson - fired in low from the area's edge.Before that, Hull had taken the lead just before half time. It came with Davies - not for the first time - winning a header from a corner with his goalbound effort superbly pushed out by Schmeichel at full-stretch only for the ball to drop to Abel Hernandez.He attempted a bicycle kick, but was marginally beaten to the ball by an almost equally acrobatic move from teammate Adama Diomande. It arced across goal, off the crossbar and into the net.The lead was cancelled out soon into the second half - 14 seconds in fact - when Leicester were awarded a penalty even though the contact made by Tom Huddlestone on Demarai Gray came outside the area. Gray fell inside and referee Mike Dean gave the spot kick, eventually driven down the centre of goal and into the net by Riyad Mahrez.story_article_right2Leicester had missed a flurry of chances, not least close to half time when Fuchs played two - not just one - one-twos, the second with Ahmed Musa to put himself clear on goal only for Eldin Jakupovic to repel his poked shot.The ball broke to Vardy, but as he was set to side-foot home, Livermore threw himself to block, with Mahrez then sending an effort wide.Vardy missed two more opportunities. Musa - impressive and quick - scampered clear again, and was too pacey for Davies, only for Vardy to sky a cut-back.The striker then smacked himself in the face in frustration. Before that, Vardy had executed an air-shot from another Musa cutback and Danny Drinkwater had steered a shot narrowly across goal after being picked out by Mahrez.Once behind for the second time, though, Leicester never looked like getting back into it as Hull's belief soared. That Premier League title last May looks a long time ago for Leicester.The Premier League is again up and running and gloriously impossible to predict...

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