Inter’s unbeaten run ended by Udinese
time Benteke was provider, picking out electric Zaha who was composure personified while checking his run before drilling past a helpless Kasper Schmeichel.
Leicester did produce a decent response after the break and in the 59th minute appeared to be back in it when Vincent Iborra headed home.
However, referee Martin Atkinson cut short the celebrations by blowing for a push by the midfielder on James Tomkins.
If that decision upset the locals, it was nothing compared with the red card Atkinson produced seconds later.
Video replays actually proved he was right on both occasions – especially in penalising Ndidi for a clear dive in the area.
How stupid can you be? Ndidi, 21 yesterday, had been booked nine minutes earlier for a foul.
To then fake being tripped so soon after defied belief. The Nigerian became the first player to be sent off on his birthday in the Premier League since Dwight Gayle playing for Palace against West Ham on October 17, 2015 – the day he turned 25 – and his exit ended any hopes of a Foxes fightback.
Instead, it was the Eagles who sealed a memorable afternoon by adding a third in the fourth minute of stoppage time through sub Sako’s superb curling effort.
Next up for Puel’s men is Tuesday’s Carabao Cup last-eight tie at home to Manchester City and he is demanding a marked improvement.
The Frenchman added: “We need to find a fresh mentality against one of the top teams in Europe.
“It’s all about recovering and giving our best.” Inter
Udinese.
Manager Luciano Spalletti had yet to be beaten in his previous 17 games in charge, but the result allowed Napoli to reclaim top spot in Italy.
Kevin Lasagna opened the scoring for the visitors with a tap-in in the 14th minute but Icardi (right) restored parity just two minutes later with a neat volley.
However, Inter fell behind again on the hour mark when Davide Santon handled in the area.
Rodrigo De Paul converted from the spot before Antonin Barak clinched the victory with
13 minutes remaining. Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to
11 points thanks to substitute Thomas Muller’s 79th-minute strike against Stuttgart, although they had to rely on a penalty save in stoppage time from keeper Sven Ulreich. Muller netted with his first shot after coming on 25 minutes from time, but former Stuttgart stopper Ulreich proved to be the hero as he denied Chadrac Akolo’s spot-kick.
Borussia Dortmund Hoffenheim. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had cancelled out Mark Uth’s opener.
Paris St-Germain continued their dominance in Ligue 1 with a 4-1 win at Rennes after Neymar scored twice either side of goals from Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani. Meanwhile, English clubs can track their Champions League opponents this afternoon with Juventus visiting Bologna, Basel facing a tough trip to Grasshopper and Barcelona hosting Deportivo La Coruna. Sevilla drew 0-0 with Levante on Friday.