Hull 2-1 LeicesterHome team scorersAdama Diomande 45 +0:59
Robert Snodgrass 57
Away team scorersRiyad Mahrez 47 pen
At one point an apparently perplexed Mike Phelan scratched his head and, in another cameo, Jamie Vardy slapped himself hard across the face. For Hull City’s caretaker manager and Leicester City’s star striker it must have felt as if the world had spun off its axis.
Those moments seemed to sum up a day when one of the most makeshift teams to have entered combat at this level defeated the English title-holders. Thanks to a fine winner from the excellent Robert Snodgrass, Leicester City became the first defending champions to lose the opening game of the season since the Premier League’s inception.
With Vardy thoroughly off the pace and his defence frequently all over the place Claudio Ranieri looked suitably agitated and must have wondered if the sheer chaos enveloping Hull at present had bred fatal complacency among his players. Either that or last season really was an extraordinary, but strictly ephemeral, one off.
Hull’s behind-the-scenes staff had turned up first thing on Saturday morning to discover large swathes of the stadium scrawled with graffiti. “Allams out” was very much the gist - or at least the polite version of it - and a major clean-up operation ensued.
Unfortunately for Hull’s owners soapy water and scrubbing brushes are useless when it comes to turning down the volume. Accordingly as kick-off approached an ugly soundtrack gained momentum. “Allams out, we want Allams out,” chanted the home fans, most of whom had come equipped with red cards which were raised in protest at the stewardship of the only Premier League club not to have signed a single senior player this summer.
With Assem Allam, the chairman, seriously ill his son, Ehab, is handling day-to-day affairs and is involved in a desperate attempt to offload the club to Chinese investors. There were unconfirmed reports that members of the consortium were in attendance. Assuming they did not swiftly sneak out before hot-footing it to the next available Beijing-bound aeroplane those VIP guests can only have been heartened by an early moment when, connecting with Snodgrass’s out-swinging corner, Curtis Davies directed a header fractionally wide of a post.
Considering Phelan – caretaking the first team in the wake of Steve Bruce’s resignation last month – had only 13 fit senior players (including two goalkeepers) at his disposal Hull started reasonably well.
A casual visitor dropping in from Mars or Jupiter would certainly never have guessed that Leicester were Premier League champions and Hull newly promoted from the Championship.
In reality there were moments when Leicester looked the nervy newcomers. Suddenly, distinctly mortal Riyad Mahrez directed what should have been a routine pass straight into touch, while Vardy’s outstretched boot sliced thin air as he endeavoured to meet an inviting ball from Ahmed Musa.
After a while an ersatz home defence featuring Jake Livermore, a midfielder, at centre-half realised it might not need to retreat quite so deep after all and Eldin Jakupovic, Phelan’s goalkeeper, even started looking a little bored at times.
Bar a dangerously curling Demarai Gray shot which was deflected wide and another marginally off-target curler, from Danny Drinkwater after the midfielder had been cued up by a wonderful reminder of Mahrez’s real ability, Jakupovic was largely a spectator.
Had Mohamed Diamé, arguably’s Hull’s best player before his defection to Newcastle United, not been 150 miles up the road, preparing to make his debut in front of 52,000 people at St James’ Park, Sam Clucas would surely have been on the bench here.
Instead Clucas shone in an unfamiliar holding-midfield role in which he relished making life unexpectedly difficult for Drinkwater and Andy King. On this evidence N’Golo Kanté, now a Chelsea anchor, is going to be a very big miss.
Even so Leicester really should have scored when Musa, increasingly impressive, played a lovely one-two with Christian Fuchs who finally forced Jacupovic to divert his shot. Vardy then looked set to pounce on the rebound but in zoomed Livermore to make a brilliant block, leaving a furious Vardy hitting himself in the face – and Mahrez to dispatch the loose ball wide.
If Mahrez was worrying Andy Robertson, the similarly influential Snodgrass persistently ruffled Danny Simpson and company. Snodgrass had a lot to do with Hull’s ability to hold their own and, appropriately enough, it was from his corner that Phelan’s team stunned everyone by taking the lead as half-time beckoned.
From that set piece Davies forced Peter Schmeichel into a flying save and both Abel Hernández and Adama Diomandé flung themseleves at the fall-out. Although Hernández’s wonderfully acrobatic overhead kick appeared set to open the scoring, Diomandé applied the final touch, helping the ball into the back of the net. Talk about perfect synchronicity.
It was not destined to last. The second half had barely begun before Tom Huddlestone brought Gray down right on the edge of the penalty area. There was a bit of it “was-it-inside-or-outside?” debate but Mike Dean had already pointed to the spot and Mahrez made no mistake from 12 yards.
Undeterred Snodgrass restored Hull’s look courtesy of a first-time shot from just inside the area after Wes Morgan had only half-cleared Ahmed Elmohamady’s vicious cross. That cameo proved entirely symptomatic of a strangely shaky visiting defence; on this evidence Huth, aka “The Berlin Wall”, cannot return a moment too soon.
Guardian
