LEICESTER, England, April 21 : Leicester City were relegated to the third tier of English soccer on Tuesday, a decade on from their astonishing run to the Premier League title, while Coventry City made sure they will go up to the top flight as champions.
Relegated to the second-tier Championship last season, the Foxes suffered a humiliating second successive drop after drawing 2-2 at home to promotion-chasing Hull City at a King Power Stadium with plenty of empty seats.
Their promotion already in the bag, Frank Lampard’s Coventry thrashed Portsmouth 5-1 to go an unassailable 10 points clear at the top with two games to spare.
Millwall went second after winning 3-1 at Stoke City and are now three points clear of Ipswich Town, who have two games in hand and play at Charlton Athletic on Wednesday.
It was also a good night for Wrexham who moved back into the promotion playoff places, ahead of Hull on goal difference, after winning 1-0 at relegation-threatened Oxford United thanks to a Josh Windass goal.
A GOAL DOWN, THEN A GOAL UP
Leicester had to beat the Tigers to stave off relegation for at least another day but were already a goal down after 18 minutes when Liam Miller cashed in on an error by goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
They had the fans dreaming the impossible dream in the second half, though, when Jordan James equalized from the penalty spot in the 52nd and Luke Thomas put them ahead two minutes later. Any joy was short-lived, with Oli McBurnie equalising in the 63rd.
The result left the Foxes 23rd in the standings on 42 points from 44 games and seven away from safety with only two games remaining.
“Incredibly frustrating,” said Gary Rowett, who took the helm only in February as Leicester’s fourth manager in less than a year.
“I think the bigger picture is you don’t get relegated over three, four games. You get relegated over a season... we’ve only kept five clean sheets all season.
Thai-owned Leicester delighted neutral fans in 2015-16 when, as 5,000-1 outsiders managed by Italian Claudio Ranieri, they took the top-tier title by storm as the world watched in amazement.
They reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2017 but the death of owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in a helicopter accident in 2018 came as a terrible blow.
Leicester won the FA Cup in 2021, a first for the club, but they were docked six points this season for breaches of the English Football League profitability and sustainability rules governing spending, and lost their appeal this month.
They suffered 1-0 losses to Swansea City and Portsmouth before Tuesday’s draw dropped them to the third tier for only the second time in their 142-year history.
Next season their opponents will include newly promoted Bromley, who have spent all but two of their 134 years of existence playing non-league football and whose ground holds just over 5,000 people.
“This club won the Premier League not too many moons ago,” said Rowett of Leicester’s plunge. “That was an incredible high of a time for the fans... I think everyone saw that as an amazing achievement. I think we can be equally as disappointed with how poor this moment is.
“The club has to rise again but it has to learn its lessons because it’s certainly been a season of an awful lot of regret.”
