Marc Pugh scored the the winner on his first start since the last match of last season
Marc Pugh (right) was a regular menace down the left and delivered the winner (Photo: Reuters)
Bournemouth continue to show no respect to those who arrive at the Vitality Stadium with big reputations.
After title-chasing Liverpool 10 days ago, it was Leicester’s turn to be humbled by Eddie Howe’s men.
The Foxes turned up as champions, albeit fading ones, and hot on the heels of their 4-2 win over Manchester City last time out.
But Claudio Ranieri’s celebrated duo, Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy – the seventh and eighth best players in the world, according to this week’s Ballon d’Or results – were upstaged here by the Cherries’ trio of Marc Pugh, Nathan Ake and Steve Cook.
Pugh, a constant menace down Bournemouth’s left-wing, got the winner on his first start since the last game of last season, while Chelsea loanee Ake, 21, and Cook teamed up at the heart of the hosts’ defence to nullify the threat of Vardy and co.
As in their victory over Liverpool, Bournemouth got a helping hand from a German goalkeeper.
Ron-Robert Zieler followed Loris Karius by making a less than impressive contribution to the winning goal.
Pugh’s strike brought Leicester back down to earth with a bump after their City heroics on Saturday evening. And their woes on the road show no sign of ending.
It is now no away league win since April or back-to-back league victories since the same month.
Not long after Artur Boruc raced off his line to thwart Vardy, Mahrez split the Cherries defence to send the England man clear.
Vardy got to the ball first, nicking it around the onrushing Boruc, but his touch took him too wide, giving Cook time to get back and deflect his eventual effort over. Islam Slimani then had an air shot for Leicester before Bournemouth threatened for the first time through the impressive Jack Wilshere.
A minute later, Zieler had a self-inflicted lucky escape when he got himself in a right mess.
Firstly, he booted a clearance at Benik Afobe. Then, when he won the race to the loose ball, he booted it out of play but against the hoardings so it popped up nicely for the Cherries striker.
Afobe found Pugh with a quick throw in but he could only volley over an empty goal from 20 yards.
And Zieler was in the spotlight in the 34th minute when he failed to keep out Pugh’s well-taken volley, despite getting a hand to it, after initially reacting well to
deny Afobe.
Below-par Leicester came out early for the second half while the interval entertainment, that involved Vardy’s father-in-law, was still going on.
They were quick out of the traps too and close to an equaliser when Simon Francis almost turned the ball into his own net.
Aside from an Adam Smith attempt, Bournemouth were struggling to create chances and get out of their half.
But Leicester only had a half-hearted penalty appeal, when Vardy went down under pressure from Ake, a tame overhead kick from the same striker and a speculative Mahrez effort to show for all their dominance.
Half-time sub, Shinji Okazaki, on for the ineffective Slimani, joined the list of Foxes stars to try and fail to beat Boruc as the game headed into the final 15 minutes.
Pugh almost clinched it with a curler, and Bournemouth needed a heroic block from Boruc and last-ditch challenge from Francis, to deny Leonardo Ulloa an equaliser in an injury-time goalmouth scramble.
