Leicester nightmare continues with Swansea defeat

Leicester City’s shambolic title defence continued with a limp 2-0 defeat to Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium.

The Foxes are now 17th in the Premier League, just a point above the drop zone, and have an ominous set of fixtures between now and May – all while juggling Champions League and FA Cup duties.

Alfie Mawson set the hosts on their way with a brilliant volley from Federico Fernandez’s header back across goal before Martin Olsson rifled home his first for the club, beating Kasper Schmeichel at his near post.

For Leicester, it really is crisis time. The champions have now failed to register a goal in six successive games and over 10 hours of football.

After the fairytale season that saw them clinch the Premier League title, relegation is now a very real possibility. They are the first reigning champions to lose five consecutive top flight matches since Chelsea in 1956. The Blues went on to finish 16th (out of 22).

What’s wrong with Leicester? Scarcely believable after last season but the champions are the only team in the top five European leagues not to have scored a league goal in 2017 and, to be honest, it’s hard to see when that drought will end.

Alfie Mawson (Swansea City): Set the ball rolling with his third goal in six games but was just as impressive at the back, instrumental in limiting Leicester to one shot on target.

Swansea: Fabianski 7, Naughton 6, Fernandez 7, Mawson 8, Olsson 7, Fer 6, Cork 6, Carroll 6, Dyer 6, Llorente 6, Sigurdsson 7. SUBS: Routledge 7, Ayew 6, Narsingh 6.

Leicester: Schmeichel 6, Simpson 7, Morgan 5, Huth 5, Fuchs 6, Mahrez 6, Drinkwater 6, Ndidi 6, Albrighton 6, Gray 6, Vardy 6. SUBS: Chilwell 6, Amartey 6, Slimani 7.

36’ – GOAL! Swansea 1-0 Leicester. Alfie Mawson lashes home his third for Swansea in six matches this season, volleying past Schmeichel from Olsson’s header back across goal.

45+2’ – GOAL! Swansea 2-0 Leicester. It’s Martin Olsson with his first for the club, smashing it past Schmeichel at the near post. Lovely flick from Sigurdsson.

62’ – FABIANSKI SAVE! Mahrez plays in Slimani and Fabianski spreads himself wide to make a great save.

78’ – CHANCE VARDY! Great feet from Ndidi and it’s shipped onto Vardy but he lashes his effort wide. Not Leicester’s day.

Reigning champions Leicester are now one point off the relegation zone. In 1938, Manchester City became the only team to have been relegated in the season after winning the league title.

Leicester break the top flight record for longest goal drought by the reigning champions. Liverpool failed to score in five top flight fixtures in a row as reigning champions in both 1906/07 and 1947/48. Only Stoke City (7 in 1985) have had a longer top flight goal drought from the beginning of a calendar year than Leicester's current run of six matches.

Leicester become the second reigning champions, after Leeds United (all 21 in 1992/93), to remain winless in their opening 13 away matches of a top flight season.

Leicester are the only team in the top five European leagues not to have scored a league goal in 2017. They have now gone 610 minutes without scoring a Premier League goal since Islam Slimani's 20th-minute winner against West Ham United on 31 December 2016.