"From Fairy Tale to Tragedy": Leicester Faces 'Catastrophe' of Relegation to Third Division for First Time in 10 Years Since EPL Title; 'Six-Point Deduction' Was a Bitter Blow

*This content was translated by AI.

Leicester City, which wrote the greatest championship fairy tale in English Premier League (EPL) history, is now plummeting into the abyss. The champion that once thrilled football fans worldwide a decade ago now faces relegation to the third division (League One).

On the 21st (Korean time), the UK's BBC reported, "Leicester is facing relegation to League One. Relegation could be confirmed as early as the 22nd."

Currently, Leicester City sits in 23rd place among 24 teams in the English Championship (second division) with 41 points after 43 rounds (11 wins, 14 draws, 18 losses). In the Championship, the bottom three teams (22nd to 24th) are relegated to League One for the next season.

In February, a six-point deduction was imposed for violating the "Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR)," a painful blow. Had the deduction not occurred, Leicester would have had 47 points, but the penalty caused them to drop from 17th to 20th place. Continued poor form eventually pushed them down to 23rd, the relegation zone.

From January 17th (27th round) to January 18th (43rd round), Leicester managed only one win in 17 matches (7 draws, 9 losses). Their ranking fell from 13th to 23rd.

The path to survival is extremely difficult. Leicester must win their upcoming match against Hull City on the 22nd. A draw or a loss would mean immediate relegation. Even if they win all three remaining matches, including against Hull City, the maximum points they can accumulate would be 50. Dramatic survival in the second division is only possible if 19th-place Charlton (50 points), 20th-place West Bromwich, and 21st-place Blackburn (both 49 points) fail to earn any points in their remaining games.

BBC noted, "The current situation, where Leicester could fall back to the third division just 10 years after winning the EPL title, is nothing short of shocking."

Fans watching Leicester's decline can only feel sorrow. After winning the Championship in 2013–2014 and earning promotion to the top flight, Leicester survived the 2014–2015 EPL season in 14th place. Then, in the 2015–2016 season, they wrote a dreamlike fairy tale by securing their first-ever EPL title in the club's 132-year history.

At the start of that season, bookmakers had set Leicester's championship odds at just 0.02% (1 in 5,000). However, under manager Claudio Ranieri, they achieved an astonishing record of 23 wins, 12 draws, and 3 losses over 38 rounds (81 points), finishing 10 points clear of second-place Arsenal (71 points).

However, recent performances have shifted from a "dreamlike fairy tale" to a "tragic narrative." After finishing 18th in the EPL last season and being relegated to the Championship, Leicester has now fallen even deeper into the abyss.

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*This content was translated by AI.