Three things we learnt from Leicester's 2-1 defeat to Hull City

By Sam Leveridge

With the Premier League season finally kicking off at the KC Stadium after a long summer of England related pain, many were expecting the reigning champions to get off to a good start with an easy tie against a newly promoted side without a manager and in the middle of possibly the club’s worst ever injury crisis.

That wasn’t to be the case as Adama Diamonde gave the Tigers the lead with an acrobatic effort just before the break, and a Riyad Mahrez penalty just the other side of the whistle was not enough as Robert Snodgrass scored with an impressive effort to earn three points for the play-off winners last season.

Here is what we learned from the opening day’s first fixture:

1) Defending the title won’t be easy for Leicester City

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Nobody ever expected it to be a walk in the park, but the Foxes have already broken a record by becoming the first ever reigning champions to lose the first match of their attempted defence.

Without N’Golo Kante in midfield Danny Drinkwater and Andy King were overwhelmed at times as Hull counter attacked in numbers and they desperately lacked a midfield enforcer to cut off these moves before they really threatened Kasper Schmeichel. Jamie Vardy could have had a hat trick in the first half alone, and he will need to get his shooting boots back on if there is to be any chance of a second consecutive title.

Don’t lose all hope though, Demarai Gray shone for Claudio Rainieri’s men and was one of the few bright sparks. With pace and skill he looks like he will be a real threat to a number of Premier League defences this season, it was certainly enough to win the penalty to give the team a chance to equalise early in the second half.