Football: Snodgrass Stuns Champions Leicester, Spurs Held

LONDON, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th August, 2016) - Robert Snodgrass scored the winner as crisis club Hull City brought Premier League champions Leicester City crashing to earth with a shock 2-1 victory on Saturday's opening day. Three months on from their 5,000-1 fairytale title triumph, Leicester fell to Scottish winger Snodgrass's 57th-minute strike after Riyad Mahrez had cancelled out Adama Diomande's opener. Elsewhere, Erik Lamela equalised to earn Tottenham Hotspur -- last season's third-place team -- a 1-1 draw at Everton after goalkeeper Hugo Lloris had been forced off by injury. "I told my players this season will be harder than last season.

Today was a normal match, maybe a draw was normal, but we lost it," said Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri, whose side lost only three times last season. "For this reason I told them we must be very strong together because last season we showed ourselves as a very good team and we need to repeat that." It was the first time the defending English champions had opened the campaign with a defeat since 1989, when Arsenal lost at Manchester United. Leicester were starting life without N'Golo Kante, who has joined Chelsea, and were also without the suspended Robert Huth.

New signings Luis Hernandez and Ahmed Musa both started. They went behind in first-half stoppage time at the KCOM Stadium when Kasper Schmeichel parried Curtis Davies's header and Diomande and Abel Hernandez launched themselves at the loose ball. Both men attempted an overhead volley; Hernandez made contact first, but the ball flicked off Diomande's foot and flashed into the net. Mahrez equalised from the penalty spot in the 47th minute after Tom Huddlestone clipped Demarai Gray from behind, although replays showed the foul occurred outside the box. But 10 minutes later Hull secured victory when Danny Simpson could only partially clear Ahmed Elmohamady's cross and Snodgrass thrashed the loose ball home. Hull are without a permanent manager following Steve Bruce's resignation last month and had just 13 senior players in their match-day squad. "It was great to see the team and staff all pull together and surprise so many people," said caretaker manager Mike Phelan. "The players have enjoyed themselves today."