Hull vs. Leicester City: Score and Reaction from 2016 Premier League Match

Hull City stunned Premier League champions Leicester City on Saturday, beating the Foxes 2-1 at the KC Stadium in the opening match of the 2016-17 season.

Adama Diomande netted the first goal of the campaign with an acrobatic finish on the stroke of half-time, but it was cancelled out by a Riyad Mahrez penalty in the opening minutes of the second half.

The excellent Robert Snodgrass restored Hull's lead before the hour-mark, and the profligate visitors were unable to find a way back into the match for a second time.

The Foxes started with a front four blessed with pace, with Jamie Vardy and Ahmed Musa spearheading the attack while Mahrez and Demarai Gray featured out wide, prompting Hull to defend deep from the outset.

Gray in particular started brightly as he looked to get on the ball early, though he failed to test Eldin Jakupovic with either of his efforts on goal.

Mahrez came close after beating Andrew Robertson but saw his shot deflected wide, while Danny Drinkwater whipped the Algerian's pull-back just wide of the post as Leicester threatened, per Sky Sports Football:

The Tigers offered little going forward, but with Leicester unable to play their favoured counter-attacking system, they had to set about breaking their opponents down.

The game sprang to life in the final minutes of the first half. Christian Fuchs raced clear following a one-two with Musa only to be denied well by Jakupovic, before Vardy saw his follow-up blocked and Mahrez sent a third bite at the cherry wide.

Vardy should have made it 1-0 moments later when set up well by Musa, but he contrived to blast over from 10 yards. The England striker was evidently frustrated with himself:

The miss proved costly—in the dying moments of the half, a rare foray upfield produced a corner for Hull.

Kasper Schmeichel did well to keep out Curtis Davies' header, but he was unable to prevent Abel Hernandez from producing a sublime overhead kick on the rebound that looked to take a slight deflection off Diomande, per Sky Sports Football:

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Our first goal of the new Premier League season from Hernandez or was it Diomande? It's live on Sky Sports 1 now. https://t.co/iiZ7G8qumn

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) August 13, 2016"

Just 15 seconds after the restart, Leicester's fortunes changed dramatically when Tom Huddlestone fouled Gray on the edge of the area and gave away a penalty, which Mahrez duly dispatched.

Per the Daily Mail's Laurie Whitwell, while Hull deserved to be penalised for the foul, the visitors still earned a slice of good fortune:

The hosts were ahead once more soon after, though, when the Foxes failed to clear their lines and the ball broke to Snodgrass, who lashed home a low half-volley:

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WATCH: OHHHH! Robert Snodgrass rifles it into the bottom left hand corner for Hull to make it 2-1. More on SS1 now. https://t.co/chNuc8cChM

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) August 13, 2016"

As Copa90 noted, the visitors were missing one of their most important players from last season:

Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri threw on Shinji Okazaki and Daniel Amartey as he bid to find another equaliser, but the Foxes lacked the quality in attack they displayed so often last year, while Hull showed a remarkable resilience at the back.

The visitors became the first Premier League champions to lose their opening match in the following season. For the Foxes, the defeat demonstrates the size of the task they face in trying to defend their title.

As for Hull, the match will provide a much-needed injection of hope with the team entering the season in a worrying state without any new signings or a permanent manager.

Post-Match Reaction

Leicester manager Ranieri rued his side's missed chances, per Sky Sports Football:

Meanwhile, Hull's caretaker boss Mike Phelan praised his team for their effort:

The Tigers play Swansea City in their next match.