THE PREM IS BACK!
OPENING-DAY WIN AGAINST THE CHAMPS? THAT’S A
HULL ................................ 2 LEICESTER ...................... 1
STEVE BRUCE has been on the phone with Hull City caretaker boss Mike Phelan this week – and his old assistant rang up the surprise win of the opening day.
Leicester became the ONLY defending champions to lose the first game of the season in the Premier League era, after crashing to defeat at the KCOM Stadium.
Phelan admitted that Bruce, who quit over the lack of transfer activity last month after guiding Hull back to the Premier League, had been in constant contact.
And nobody was happier than Phelan – and Bruce (below) watching at home – after Hull’s shock win.
Former Man United No.2 Phelan said: “Yes, I’m in contact with Steve. He has
DILLY ding, dilly dong. Crazy to say it, but the alarm bells have started to ring in the head of boss Claudio Ranieri as the start of Leicester’s title defence ended in embarrassing defeat.
Champions had not lost on the opening day of a new season since Arsenal in 1989. That dishonour now falls to Ranieri and his kings of England after a day they will all want to file away in a dusty failure drawer.
Hull, the undeniable underdogs, finished unexpected but glorious victors, with their disbelieving fans queuing up at the bookmakers’ stalls to cash in betting slips – although none in the realm of Leicester’s 5,000-1 title-winning punters.
More than a hundred furious Tigers supporters started the day demanding the exit of the owners with, “We want Allam out” chants in a protest outside the main entrance.
Two hours later, they put their displeasure to one side to salute their heroes one and all, with Jamie Vardy summing up Leicester’s frustration by punching his own jaw in a mock punishment for another glaring miss.
Ranieri admitted that it was not a performance of champions and said: “Today we didn’t play like a team but we gave everything. And I can say nothing to my players.
“They were smarter than us. We got nervous. Our strength is when everyone is connected together.
“It was a big effort but not together. Hull played better. I said this year would be harder and we would lose a bit more than last season. I can say thank you to my players, though, because they fought.”
You feared the worst for Hull as referee Mike Dean got the game under way. Here we had a side completely downhearted over the departure of mercurial manager Steve Bruce, whose technical area was filled by assistant Mike Phelan.
Only 13 fit senior players and a bench full of kids were left for a caretaker boss hoping to sweep in as the new broom and – because of his lack of resources – he never bringing a substitute on.
But any sorrow for Hull’s pitiful plight was wiped away in a first half of spirit, courage and downright commitment as they fronted up to the champions – and knocked them down a peg or two from their lofty perch.
Curtis Davies got the protesting fans in a much more cheerful mood with a header just wide from a Robert Snodgrass corner – definitely a warning sign of what was to come.
Leicester looked bemused and bewildered. Their free-flowing, speedy brand of football had gone AWOL with Vardy looking as though he was still suffering from his honeymoon hangover.
First, new signing Ahmed Musa slotted back to the England star who swung at fresh air and almost landed embarrassingly on his backside.
Then left-back Christian Fuchs saw his effort kept out by keeper Eldin Jakupovic and in the follow-up the outstanding Jake Livermore blocked Vardy who thought he could steer the ball into an empty net. Riyad Mahrez completed the fruitless exercise by curling wide.
Musa again brought Vardy into play but the striker clumsily blazed his shot way off target.
Hull certainly made Leicester and Vardy pay for their lack of ruthlessness with a goal in added time. Another Snodgrass corner was met by Davies who saw keeper Kasper Schmeichel pull off a breathtaking save.
But Adama Diomande somehow hooked the ball home with an acrobatic overhead kick, hitting Abel Hernandez’s boot on the way in to leave Phelan joking that two strikers had scored.
Less than two minutes after the restart, though, Leicester were back in the game thanks to the generosity of referee Dean.
Demarai Gray was going nowhere fast until Tom Huddlestone touched him two feet outside the penalty area and the Leicester man tumbled into the box, Dean pointed to the spot and Mahrez rocketed home the equaliser.
But total confusion and disarray in Leicester’s defence led to Hull’s winner in the 57th minute.
Normally cool customers failed to clear and Snodgrass drove the loose ball into the bottom corner.
After that it was all hands to the pumps as Leicester threw everything at Hull in a bid to save their blushes but Switzerland shot-stopper Jakupovic was equal to the shooting skill of Mahrez to deny him.
Snodgrass tried his luck again but couldn’t get past Schmeichel before a last-gasp Danny Drinkwater shot fell snugly into the arms of a grateful Jakupovic.