Hull City shock champions Leicester

Relegation favourites Hull City beat champions Leicester City 2-1 at the KCOM Stadium in the opening match of the 2016-17 Premier League season.

Leicester become the first champions of the Premier League era, and the first since Manchester United shocked Arsenal 4-1 at Old Trafford in 1989, to lose their opening match of the season.

Hull took the lead just before the break when Adama Diomande acrobatically reacted to scissor-kick a shot past Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, after the Dane had had only half-cleared Curtis Davies' initial header.

The champions levelled moments after the restart, with Riyad Mahrez netting from the spot after referee Mike Dean ruled that Tom Huddlestone had tripped Demarai Gray in the penalty area.

But Robert Snodgrass handed the Premier League new boys all three points with a drilled finish on 57 minutes, after Wes Morgan failed to clear Ahmed Elmohamady's cross from the right flank.

It was a chastening afternoon for Ranieri's side, 28-1 to be relegated before the start of the season, with Morgan hopelessly off-form and striker Jamie Vardy wasteful in front of goal.

Though Hull caretaker manager Mike Phelan may have unearthed a gem in Sam Clucas, who swapped his usual left-wing spot for a role at the base of a 4-1-3-2 formation.

The 25-year-old, who began a peripatetic career that included spells at Mansfield, Hereford and Chesterfield after failing to make the grade at Leicester, was positively N'Golo Kante-like in a protective role in front of the makeweight centre-half pairing of Curtis Davies and Jake Livermore.

By Nick Royle

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