Leicester City put in another abject performance against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.
Going down 2-0, Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side broke a 65-year-old record as they lost their seventh consecutive game for the second time this season.
Despite how easy it was for Manchester City, Pep Guardiola praised Leicester’s performance, claiming it wasn’t difficult to play against the Foxes.
Chris Sutton clearly disagrees with Guardiola’s take, however, making an astonishing claim in the days following the result.
Chris Sutton says Leicester ‘should have been relegated immediately’ for Etihad performance
Giving his predictions to BBC Sport for Matchweek 31 in the Premier League, Sutton didn’t hold back on his views about Wednesday’s performance.
Sutton said: ‘Leicester should have been relegated immediately for what they did at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
‘For a team who are desperate for a win, they showed absolutely zero attacking intent even when they went two goals down.’
Sutton’s point is evidenced by stats from the game: Leicester had two shots, both of which were off target, racking up an xG of 0.02.
By comparison, Manchester City recorded 18 shots, five of which were on target, for an xG of 2.52.
Sutton continued: ‘All they were interested in was building a wall and just stopping Manchester City.
‘I felt sorry for their travelling fans because the team offered no threat whatsoever, and didn’t even try to score.’
Leicester fans were similarly critical of van Nistelrooy following the defeat, with many taking to social media arguing he needed to be removed from his job at the King Power Stadium.
Chris Sutton questions Ruud van Nistelrooy’s in-game decisions
As well as criticising van Nistelrooy’s tactical set-up for the visit to Manchester City, Sutton also questioned the Dutchman’s in-game decisions.
Specifically, the 52-year-old questioned why van Nistelrooy substituted Jamie Vardy at half-time with his side losing 2-0.
Sutton explained: ‘At 2-0… Leicester took their star striker, Jamie Vardy, off to put another midfielder on.
‘That tells you where Leicester are at right now – it felt like they were waving the white flag and going for damage limitation, rather than thinking they might as well give it a go and risk conceding more goals.’
Sutton concluded: ‘[Leicester’ were pretty pathetic and you have got to question what their manager Ruud van Nistelrooy was thinking.’
It is a damning indictment, albeit one that maybe isn’t too far from the truth.