Kingston upon Hull: Leicester’s Premier League title defence got off to an embarrassing start as the champions crashed to 2-1 defeat at troubled Hull in the season opener on Saturday.
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“We made a big effort but it was individual effort, not like a team”, said Ranieri.
Leicester equalized with a penalty converted by Riyad Mahrez nearly immediately after the re-start, but Snodgrass restored Hull’s lead for good in the 57th minute with a powerful low shot from inside the area.
Not since Manchester United thumped four goals past Arsenal 27 years ago have the winners of the top league in English football suffered a defeat on the first day of the next campaign.
Hull are without a permanent manager following Steve Bruce’s resignation last month and had just 13 senior players in their match-day squad.
Seeing Leicester fall off so quickly after winning the Premier League title would be really odd, but for this team, it’s par for the course.
Having levelled, Leicester began to discover some rhythm in their play, but they were again punished for their lack of sharpness as Robert Snodgrass put Hull in the lead again.
The first half was lacklustre for the premier league champions as they had all the possession but was slow and not swift as witnessed last season.
Guardiola’s tenure had lift off after four minutes when Sergio Aguero struck from the spot after Raheem Sterling was felled by Patrick van Aanholt.
“Everything on the outside seemed to be pointing towards us going the other way, so it was important that the players showed the character that they did regardless of the final result”.
Lloris limped off with a hamstring injury in the 36th minute and his replacement Michel Vorm kept the visitors afloat with a fine save on the stroke of halftime, denying Gerard Deulofeu who was sent clear by an very bad back pass from Danny Rose. I think this was the key of the match.
“We got nervous. We want to draw, and Hull played very, very close”.
Southampton manager Claude Puel and his Watford counterpart Walter Mazzarri started life at their respective new clubs with a 1-1 draw at St Mary’s. But Saints hit back soon after half-time as Redmond scored on his debut with a fine volley after Heurelho Gomes failed to clear his lines with a weak punch.
Salomon Rondon’s 74th-minute header earned West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis a 1-0 victory at his former club Crystal Palace.
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Ben Watson was then sent off just 11 minutes after coming on as he brought down Shane Long as the Irishman bore down on goal.
