Leicester RELEGATED to the Championship after defeat to Liverpool

Leicester were relegated to the Championship at the first time of asking after they failed to beat Liverpool on Sunday afternoon as the Reds edged closer to being crowned the Premier League champions.

Going in to the game at the King Power Stadium, the Foxes knew that only a win would keep their already slim survival hopes alive.

But any dreams of what would have been a miraculous escape were shattered by Liverpool, who consigned them to a 23rd league defeat of the season.

It was Trent Alexander-Arnold who found the back of the net in the 76th minute of the game to win 1-0 on Sunday afternoon.

It saw a scene of contrasting emotions following the full-time whistle, with the home fans and players dejected while Liverpool's stars and travelling away contingent celebrated in jubilant fashion at full-time.

The Foxes join Southampton in already being relegated to the Championship, with those two teams likely to be joined by Ipswich Town.

Should that occur, it would mark the second successive season that all three promoted sides sides have been relegated to the second tier at the first time of asking.

Confirmation of Leicester's relegation also heaped pressure on manager Ruud van Nistelrooy, who took over in December following the sacking of Steve Cooper.

Although it was hoped that the former Manchester United star could spark an upturn in form for the East Midlands outfit, results failed to materialise.

The team's struggles were most evident in attack - as they managed to score in just three Premier League games since their reverse fixture against Liverpool on Boxing Day.

Now they must dust themselves off to focus on another push to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking, as they did under Enzo Maresca last campaign before he was snapped up by Chelsea.

They appear set to face stiff competition for an automatic promotion spot next term if this year's campaign in the second tier is anything to go by.

Heading into the home stretch of the season, Leeds United, Sheffield United and Burnley are locked in a three-way tussle to avoid the play-offs.

While all three of those sides could still go up, that is no guarantee, as Leeds found out last year by losing the play-off final to Southampton having been in the top two for much of 2023-24.