da realbet： Leicester's relegation was confirmed on the final day of the Premier League season, marking a sensational fall from grace for the former champions.
da premier bet： Things can change quickly in the Premier League. On Sunday, Leicester City were relegated from the Premier League. Two years earlier, they were flying high, sitting pretty in third with a five-point lead over fifth-placed Chelsea with only eight games left to play.
Although they would eventually fall at the last hurdle when they failed to secure Champions League football on the final day, the nucleus of that squad – widely regarded as the best the club have ever possessed, with more depth than even the 2015-16 Premier League winning side – remains this season.
Wesley Fofana and Kasper Schmeichel are the only regulars who have left since then, and Leicester have also invested since, bringing in the likes of Patson Daka, Wout Faes and Harry Souttar.
With James Maddison, Youri Tielemans, Harvey Barnes and others at their disposal, the Foxes should have been nowhere near the bottom three and Brendan Rodgers paid for this with his sacking in April. Dean Smith was brought in as a firefighter for the final few games of the season, but he failed to get a tune out of the squad, with Leicester tasting victory just twice during his brief spell in charge.
The fault does not solely lie with the managers, though. The players should shoulder a significant portion of the blame – and they will surely go down as one of the most talented groups to ever drop out of the Premier League.
GOAL takes a look at some of the other top sides that have been relegated to the Championship over the years…
Getty ImagesCrystal Palace (1992-93)
No team has ever amassed more Premier League points than Crystal Palace did in the 1992-93 season and still been relegated (49). Admittedly, they accomplished this in a 42-game campaign, and the division was far more evenly-balanced than it is now. Still, it's quite the unwanted record.
Palace had finished comfortably in mid-table the previous season, but losing star striker Mark Bright to Sheffield Wednesday after just one game proved to be a bitter blow, with replacement Paul Williams faltering.
The Eagles' squad included players who enjoyed impressive careers, including future Wales manager Chris Coleman, goalkeeper Nigel Martyn and Gareth Southgate, who wore the captain's armband that season.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesWest Ham (2002-03)
That Palace side is often overlooked as the best Premier League team to be relegated – and that is largely due to West Ham's antics during the 2002-03 season.
Although their points-per-game ratio was slightly lower than the Eagles', racking up 42 points and going down in a 'modern' season is quite the headline. For context, that exact same tally saw the Hammers finish 13th during the 2017-18 campaign.
The squad that West Ham had available that season was pretty incredible too. David James was a mainstay in goal, a young Jermain Defoe started up front, while Paolo Di Canio was still kicking around – though his season was disrupted following a spat with manager Glenn Roeder.
Joe Cole and Glen Johnson also featured, with the pair forming part of the mass exodus that followed their untimely relegation. It was a real sliding doors moment in West Ham history.
Getty ImagesLeeds United (2003-04)
No team has imploded quite as emphatically as Leeds United did between 2001 and 2004. Three years after reaching the Champions League semi-finals, the Whites dropped down into the second-tier of English football – and they wouldn't return until Marcelo Bielsa inspired them back to the top flight in 2020.
After "living the dream", as chairman Peter Ridsdale infamously put it, during the early 2000s, Leeds were lumbered with astronomical debts and were forced into selling some of their best assets, including Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Keane and Jonathan Woodgate.
Even considering these losses, Leeds should have had enough to collect more than the 33 points they did during the 2003-04 campaign.
They had Paul Robinson in goal, Mark Viduka leading the line and a host of young talent including Alan Smith, James Milner and Jermaine Pennant – the latter on loan from Arsenal. It wasn't to be though, and down they went, much to the disgust of their passionate fanbase.
Getty ImagesBlackburn Rovers (1998-99)
Speaking of implosions, Blackburn Rovers were relegated only a few years after lifting the Premier League title. Just one season prior, they had qualified for the UEFA Cup, too.
Blackburn's key problem was a criminal lack of goals. The previous season, Chris Sutton was a reliable scorer, netting 21 times in all competitions. In 1998-99, niggling fitness problems restricted Sutton to just 20 appearances and four goals.
As a result, Kevin Gallacher and Ashley Ward shared the club's golden boot for the season, with a pitiful five strikes each. Oh dear.
At the other end, Blackburn conceded 52, which wasn't enough to cover for their quite remarkable shortcomings in front of goal. Losing mainstays Colin Hendry and Tim Sherwood from the spine of the team certainly didn't help their cause, either.