- Foxes top of table
- Sunderland allows three in first 25 minutes
- Mahrez nets brace
- Albrighton with goal, two assists
Marc Albrighton had a hand in three goals and Riyad Mahrez netted twice as Leicester City cruised past Sunderland in both teams’ Premier League season openers on Saturday at King Power Stadium.
Claudio Ranieri’s Premier League return was a success, as Jamie Vardy also scored for Leicester, while Jermain Defoe and Steven Fletcher tallied for Sunderland.
The win boosts Leicester atop the table on goals scored, sending Sunderland bottom.
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Leicester took the lead on a free kick from the left of goal. Marc Albrighton send in the cross, and Vardy flicked it to the back post, where it bounded off the post before Costel Pantilimon could track it down.
Then Albrighton sent in another cross, which Riyad Mahrez may’ve headed ever so slightly. Uncleared, it went in the same far post. Pantilimon must’ve felt like he’d wandered into a bit of a replay. 2-0 Foxes.
[ RELATED: Latest Premier League standings ]9 - Jamie Vardy has scored or assisted nine goals in his last 11 Premier League appearances. Form.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 8, 2015
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Sunderland’s captain didn’t do them any favors when he stumbled to ground, allowing Mahrez to tumble over him and win a penalty. Mahrez easily converted, and it was 3-0 before the match hit 25 minutes.
The Black Cats didn’t find much of a rally from their halftime talks, and Leicester threatened to add to its score line several times as the second half unfolded at King Power Stadium.
But it was Sunderland who would score next, with Jermain Defoe collecting a through ball from Adam Johnson, taking a touch and hammering past Kaspar Schmeichel. 3-1, 60'.
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Albrighton made sure to restore the three-goal advantage when Younes Kaboul failed to clear a ball at his feet. With under 25 minutes to play, the Foxes were up 4-1.
Fletcher again narrowed the gap when he leapt to use the back of his head and finish past Schmeichel off a Jeremain Lens looping pass.