Leicester City were easily defeated by Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup on Sunday by a score of 4-1.
The hosts scored three first-half goals before Kelechi Iheanacho got one back at the half. City couldn’t find a way through in the second period as Forest added a fourth.
No one was happier than manager Brendan Rodgers to see Nigeria crash out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFFON) and he wasted no time in getting his returning internationals into the starting XI:
Danny Ward, James Justin, Daniel Amartey, Çağlar Söyüncü, Luke Thomas, Youri Tielemans (C), Wilfred Ndidi, Ademola Lookman, James Maddison and Kelechi Iheanacho.
The Foxes dominated the early going, with Iheanacho spurning an early opportunity and Barnes failing to control a ball in a good position.
Forest was struggling to get out of their area, but they did ring the warning bells when they hit the post from a set-piece delivered to the far post. Would City heed the warning? They would not.
Another ball delivered from the Leicester left found an unmarked Keinan Davis at the far post. He knocked the ball down for Philip Zinckernagel who bundled it home from close range.
There were suspicions of a shove by Davis and, while the broadcast was still showing replays, the Reds scored yet again.
Attacking down the right this time, Amartey won the ball near the corner. Instead of putting it out of play, he centred it directly to Brennan Johnson, who turned and nutmegged Ward to double the Forest lead.
There was less than one minute between the two goals, leaving City with a mountain to climb.
That mountain got even taller just after the half-hour mark. After a sustained period of pressure, the hosts won a corner on the left which was pumped into the centre of the box. Defender Joe Worrall brushed Ndidi aside and bounced a header into the far corner, evading both Ward and Tielemans.
For those not keeping score, this made it 3-0 to Forest on just 32’.
Leicester needed to get one back and the Trees were happy to oblige. Luke Thomas beat the high press and the ball was worked to Madders who played a brilliant curled ball into the path of Iheanacho. Forest keeper Brice Samba decided to come for it, but the Senior man tapped the ball past him and then finished from a very unlikely distance and the angle at full stretch. It was quite exceptional, but an equally ridiculous error by the keeper.
The game was decided at the hour mark. Forest turned the ball over in their half. Lookman tapped the ball to Iheanacho, whose brilliant return ball put the former Fulham man in on goal. He went over with a defender going through his back, but referee Michael Oliver wasn’t interested, there was no VAR, and there were no replays on the broadcast. Forest went down to the other end, Zinckernagel tapped it to Spence, and it was 4-1 Forest.
The FA Cup holders, Leicester are eliminated.
