Manchester City drop to 3rd, gift leaders Liverpool 6-point cushion

Liverpool have a six-point advantage at the halfway stage.

Manchester City's Premier League title defense has been dealt two major blows on both sides of Christmas, with Leicester City beating the reigning champions 2-1 at the King Power Stadium on Wednesday.

The Boxing Day defeat, coming four days after Pep Guardiola's side lost 3-2 at home to Crystal Palace, has plumped up the Reds' cushion atop the division after their concurrent 4-0 win over Newcastle United. Liverpool's trip to the Etihad Stadium on Jan. 3 is quickly turning into a must-win encounter for City.

Tottenham Hotspur also battered Bournemouth with five unanswered goals, strengthening their bid for a first title since 1961. The victory lifted the north Londoners above City and into second place.

The absent Fernandinho's importance to Guardiola's schematic will again be cited as a reason for City's back-to-back defeats, but Fabian Delph will be a prominent scapegoat for the latest setback, too. The ersatz left-back failed to detect Marc Albrighton's run to the back stick when Leicester canceled out Bernardo Silva's opener, and effectively quashed City's hopes of a comeback when he received a straight red card in the 89th minute for a lunge on Ricardo Pereira.

Ricardo scored the match-winner for Leicester, rifling an unstoppable hit from the edge of the 18-yard box after 81 minutes. Ederson wasn't to blame in the City goal, and will bemoan facing two world-class strikes in a matter of days following Andros Townsend's phenomenal volley for Crystal Palace.

Manchester City travel to Southampton on Sunday. The Saints seem to be rejuvenated under new manager Ralph Hasenhuttl following two-straight wins.