17 hours ago
4
It never rains but it pours. After Brentford breezed into a winning position with three goals inside a 15-minute first-half spell, the Leicester City fans who braved a second-half downpour were left with the hope of celebrating the meagre consolation of a first goal in this dispiriting run of six consecutive home defeats.
It didn’t happen. So Leicester, in addition to the increasing possibility of a return to the Championship a decade on from winning the Premier League title, have now become the first team in top-flight history to lose six successive home league games without scoring.
To think that the arrival of Ruud Van Nistelrooy had been greeted with such optimism in November. Now, however, Leicester have lost 10 of their last 11 league games – thank goodness they had Tottenham Hotspur to play in the midst of this run – and time is starting to run out.
By the time Fabio Carvalho stabbed home Brentford’s fourth goal in the 89th minute, the remaining Leicester fans were at least united, as they chanted ‘Sack the board’. Jon Rudkin, the director of football, is the chief target for their angst but the team are defensively soft and, with Jamie Vardy’s goals drying up since his 38th birthday last month, it is difficult to find solace.
Brentford were excellent, extending their record sequence of successive away wins in the Premier League to four, and moving to within six points of the European places. Mikkel Damsgaard made two of the goals, taking his tally of assists to 10, but Thomas Frank’s team purred throughout.
The home fans were chanting ‘We want Rudkin out’ as early as the 14th minute – and that was after Leicester had started well. By the time they were 3-0 down just after the half-hour mark, it was difficult to tell whether apathy or anger was winning out.
Everyone knows how good Brentford can be, not least since they have traded their admirable home form for a near-perfect record away sequence dating back to mid-December, but Leicester made a darned good job of making them look even better. Goals from Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbeumo and Christian Nørgaard prompted a quick chorus of ‘Sack the board’ before a disgruntled hum pervaded the entire stadium but for the small corner of jolly Brentford fans.
The biggest noise was saved for the half-time whistle, shortly after yellow cards for Woyo Coulibaly, for jumping into Nørgaard, and Caleb Okoli, whose studs caught Wissa in the chest, suggested Leicester’s discipline was spent.
Yet Coulibaly, on his first Premier League start after his £3million signing from Parma last month, had so nearly given Leicester the lead in the second minute. After his initial cross was blocked, the right-back thrashed in a shot at the near post that Mark Flekken was grateful to save with his knees.
Then Jamie Vardy twizzled his way past Ethan Pinnock with two nutmegs before dispatching a fierce shot that Flekken saved well. The pass from Bilal El Khannouss had been played perfectly from deep and Van Nistelrooy’s team seemed to be playing with belief.
How quickly this dissipated, however. The gaps the defenders allowed the Brentford attackers was disarming, possibly downright bemusing.
Kevin Schade was inexplicably left unmarked at far post after Nathan Collins was allowed to roam all the way forwards from his own half before setting the ball out wide for Kristoffer Ajer to cross.
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So it was not the greatest surprise when Brentford went ahead with the first of three goals in a 15-minute spell.
Wissa’s run in from Victor Kristiansen and off the back of Okoli was timed exquisitely to get on the end of Mikkel Damsgaard’s cunningly dinked pass, allowing him to shoot down off the turf and into the net. Schade was also there in case; Leicester’s defenders were no longer present.
Vardy had another couple of sharp efforts as Leicester looked decent on the counterattack, with El Khannouss displaying his elite quality. But Mbuemo made it two with ease as, receiving Damsgaard’s pass wide right, he showed Kristiansen exactly where he wanted to go, still cut inside on to his favoured left foot and still curled home into the gaping half net.
Then Nørgaard headed home unopposed at the near post from a free-kick conceded by Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s foul on Keane Lewis-Potter off the ball and delivered by Mbeumo.
There was still time for Ajer to head against the post and Lewis-Potter to have a fourth goal ruled out for handball after Wout Faes nearly put Wissa’s cross past his own goalkeeper.
Van Nistelrooy made two substitutions at the interval, with one crowd favourite, Stephy Mavididi, entering the fray; Jannik Vestergaard also came on. But the home fans’ biggest cheer of the night was reserved for the introduction of Facundo Buonanotte 10 minutes later although this was promptly superseded by the reaction to Jordan Ayew being the man he replaced.
Leicester fans’ verdict on Van Nistelrooy may still be in the balance but his refusal to give Buonanotte a regular start does little for his popularity ranking.
