IF YOU wanted confirmation that Leicester City are heading back to the Championship — this was it.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s beaten Foxes became the first team in top-flight history to suffer SIX defeats in a row at home in the same season without scoring a single goal during the run.
This was just all too easy for Brentford, who were three goals up before the break.
And the crowd reaction was predictable as fans turned on the club’s board again after the Foxes’ season went from bad to worse.
Some supporters were leaving their seats before the half-hour mark as Brentford scored at will and had an effort disallowed for Keane Lewis-Potter’s handball.
Quite where this leaves the club now is unclear.
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Survival is still possible — but not with this kind of chaotic defending.
It is difficult to see where Leicester’s next win is coming from.
But, tellingly, fans are not yet calling for Van Nistelrooy’s head, although he is no better than previous manager Steve Cooper, who was sacked to make way for the Dutchman.
Supporters want change — in particular director of football Jon Rudkin, who has been targeted continually from the stands.
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Another managerial change would seem pointless with this squad, so Van Nistelrooy will have to beat the odds if Leicester are to stay up.
By the end of the game, the storm clouds were gathering at the King Power Stadium as heavy rain fell, which pretty much summed up the state Leicester are in at the moment.
But the Bees’ dominance cannot be ignored and summed up their run of form away from home.
This was a fourth win in a row on the road for Thomas Frank’s side — and they are unbeaten in five away trips.
Ironically, Leicester started well and could have had two goals in the first five minutes.
Keeper Mark Flekken had to save well from Woyo Coulibaly, on his full debut, and skipper Jamie Vardy after a pacy break from the Foxes legend.
But that was as good as it got for Leicester as Frank’s men picked them off.
Brentford took a 17th-minute lead when Boubakary Soumare lost the ball and Mikkel Damsgaard floated a pass through for Yoane Wissa to score from inside the six-yard box.
Vardy brought another save from Flekken but Brentford were two up after 27 minutes thanks to a superb finish from Bryan Mbeumo from the edge of the area.
A few Foxes fans chanted, “You’re not fit to wear the shirt” and their mood was not improved as the Bees added a third five minutes later.
Mbeumo’s free-kick was lifted into the mix and Christian Norgaard headed in.
Coulibaly’s frustration boiled over as he wiped out Norgaard with a reckless tackle but only a received a yellow card.
He was lucky not to see red and Van Nistelrooy took him off at half-time.
Brentford could have had more — Kristoffer Ajer headed against the post and Foxes keeper Mads Hermansen stopped Wout Faes from scoring an own goal.
There were ironic cheers from home fans after 55 minutes when the ineffective Jordan Ayew was replaced by Facundo Buonanotte.
Hermansen pulled off an excellent save from sub Yehor Yarmoliuk’s header but the Bees’ fourth finally arrived with two minutes left.
Mbeumo’s effort was saved but sub Fabio Carvalho forced the ball over the line — sparking angry words between keeper Hermansen and team-mate Soumare.
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By the end, thousands of Leicester supporters had left the stadium with the faithful Bees singing “we’ve got more fans than you” and “you’re getting sacked in the morning”.
And as Frank’s men coasted to an impressive win, Van Nistelrooy looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders as he trudged back to the dressing room.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
