Leicester lose record 8th in a row without scoring

Leicester City have become the first Premier League team to lose eight Premier League games in a row without scoring a single goal.

Their latest defeat, a 3-0 loss to Newcastle United at the King Power Stadium in which they were two goals down inside 11 minutes, left them above only already-relegated Southampton in the table.

Leicester are the only team to lose eight consecutive games without scoring in the top-flight since Sunderland managed it in 1976-77.

"We lost another game starting with the best intentions. We lost another early goal. It's very disappointing and worrying," Leicester head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy told the BBC.

"It's a big challenge. We all know the run of form we're in. It's extremely difficult. Especially if there aren't light points to build on.

"The most difficult thing is we are in a place for such a long time and there are no results. The most important thing is the club and to bring it forward. That's the worrying part."

Leicester will be relegated if 17th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers win their next two games, or the Foxes lose their next two.

The soon-to-be Championship side brought in Van Nistelrooy in November as they looked to halt their slide towards the drop, but the Dutchman was unable to improve upon the results that got his predecessor Steve Cooper the sack.

Asked if he still feels able to lead Leicester's fight against relegation, the Manchester United legend told Sky Sports: "This is a difficult night. It's important to analyse this and sleep on it and recover. That is it for now. There are no questions, but it's dealing with another setback for now that's what I can say."

Leicester have not found the back of the net in the division since Bilal El Khannouss' strike in their 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in north London on Jan 26.

They have not scored a goal at home since Bobby De Cordova-Reid scored a 91st-minute equaliser to earn Leicester a point against Brighton & Hove Albion on Dec. 8.

One reason for optimism arrived in the 74th minute of Monday's game when Jeremy Monga (15 years, 271 days) became the second-youngest player to feature in a Premier League match. Only Arsenal forward Ethan Nwaneri (15 years, 181 days) has played in the league at a younger age.

Monga took to the pitch in a sponsorless kit as his age means he is unable to advertise the services of Leicester's shirt sponsor "BC Game" -- an online cryptocurrency gaming and gambling platform.

"You could see glimpses of his great qualities," Van Nistelrooy told the BBC. "He's a great winger and has speed. He's a fantastic talent, a great boy. He deserved these minutes and hopefully, more to come.

"It's clear and we've been saying that. We want to show what we're about and show our qualities but we aren't able to.

"I want the club to do well. The club is first and that is something to consider. It is hard because I came to the club to help it forward but it is clear there haven't been enough results to get points on the board and that's not good enough."

Leicester travel to face Brighton in their next fixture on Saturday.

Information from ESPN's Global Sports Research contributed to this report