LEICESTER, United Kingdom: Leicester’s bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League hit a historic low as Brentford cruised to a 4-0 win at the King Power Stadium on Friday.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side would have moved out of the relegation zone with a victory, but instead they remain two points from safety.
Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbeumo and Christian Norgaard all scored for Brentford in a wretched first half for second-bottom Leicester.
Fabio Carvalho netted in the closing stages and the Foxes were booed off after a 10th defeat in their last 11 league games that added to the pressure on the under-fire Van Nistelrooy.
Underlining the depth of their struggles, Leicester made unwanted history as the first team in the Premier League era to lose six successive home games without scoring in any of them.
With just 12 games left to avoid a relegation, Leicester are in severe danger of an immediate return to the Championship.
Enzo Maresca quit to take charge of Chelsea after masterminding Leicester’s promotion last season and the club’s Thai owners have failed to find an adequate replacement for the Italian.
Steve Cooper was sacked after just five months in charge and former Manchester United striker Van Nistelrooy has fared no better.
Leicester have won just four of their 26 league games this season, with Van Nistelrooy contributing only two of those victories in 15 matches.
Van Nistelrooy was waiting to officially take charge of Leicester when they were thrashed at Brentford while he watched from the stands in November.
If he could be forgiven for the result on that occasion, there were no excuses for the Dutchman this time.
Jamie Vardy needs two goals to reach 200 in all competitions for Leicester and the veteran striker nearly moved closer to that milestone in the opening moments.
Bursting into the Brentford area, Vardy was denied from by Mark Flekken’s fine save.
But Wissa’s 13th goal this season put 10th-placed Brentford ahead at the climax of an eye-catching raid in the 17th minute.
Kevin Schade’s back-heel reached Mikkel Damsgaard on the edge of the area and he clipped a perfect pass toward Wissa, whose close-range strike bounced awkwardly past wrong-footed Leicester keeper Mads Hermansen.
Brentford’s quality on the counter was too much for Van Nistelrooy’s men to handle.
In the 27th minute, Mbeumo took Damsgaard’s pass on the right flank, cut into the area and curled a superb shot into the far corner for his 15th goal this term.
Leicester were in disarray and Norgaard effectively ended the contest after just 32 minutes.
Mbeumo whipped a free-kick into the six-yard box and Leicester were too slow to respond as Norgaard rose to thump his header past Hermansen.
That was the signal for hundreds of disgruntled Leicester fans to head for the exits.
Those that stayed saw Kristoffer Ajer’s effort cannon off the post as Brentford pushed for a fourth.
Thomas Frank’s side rubbed salt into Leicester’s gaping wounds in the 89th minute when Carvalho slotted home from Mbeumo’s pass.