Foxes' slump escalates with Swansea loss
Leicester's Premier League title defence sunk to a new low on Sunday when the slumping champions lost 2-0 to Swansea for a fifth straight defeat.
Two first-half goals by defenders did the damage for Swansea, with Alfie Mawson volleying home in the 36th minute and Martin Olsson adding a second with a low drive in stoppage time.
Leicester dropped to 17th, one point above the relegation zone, and are still to score a league goal in 2017. There has been more than 10 hours of play since Islam Slimani's winner against West Ham on New Year's Eve, and the defence can't keep them out at the other end.
"It's the same. It's unbelievable," manager Claudio Ranieri said.
"We have two problems; we concede goals and don't score. We have to stick together and find a solution. It's not possible to continue this way."
Watched by their Thai owner, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, Leicester dominated the second half but couldn't end their goal drought as substitute Slimani was denied by Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski and Jamie Vardy blazed high and wide from the edge of the area.
"It's hard to put it into words," Leicester midfielder Danny Drinkwater, who insisted on Sky Sports that Ranieri had the support of the players, said. "We need to get out of this, we need to keep on fighting.
"We haven't changed much. It seems that we're not having the rub of the green or something, but we believe in ourselves as a bunch of lads."
Up next for Leicester is an FA Cup fifth-round match at second-tier Millwall before a trip to Sevilla for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 match. Then the fight for Premier League survival resumes with a home game against Liverpool on February 27, with relegation now a serious prospect.
This latest loss came despite Ranieri resting most of his key players for the win against Derby in an FA Cup replay on Wednesday.
"The machine is not broken," Ranieri said, "but of course, when you don't play at the maximum level and others play at the top, it's difficult."
Swansea moved above Leicester and are four points clear of the bottom three.
