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Leicester City have been dumped out of the FA Cup at the fourth-round stage as their trophy defence ended with a 4-1 loss to deserving winners Nottingham Forest.

Championship outfit Forest put in a memorable performance – particularly in an eventful first half – to dethrone Leicester City and book their own place in the fifth round, where they will face fellow second-tier side Huddersfield Town at home.

Philip Zinckernagel, Brennan Johnson, Joe Worrall and Djed Spence scored the goals for Forest. Leicester could only reply via Kelechi Iheanacho.

Leicester made three changes from their most recent lineup. They welcomed Iheanacho and Wilfried Ndidi back from the African Cup of Nations, while Danny Ward deputised in goal.

Forest were able to bring captain Worrall back into the starting XI after a recent injury. But striker Lewis Grabban had to miss out due to his own physical issues; Keinan Davis led the line instead.

It was an intense start to the game. Leicester had a good chance to take the lead after a weaving run from Luke Thomas, but Iheanacho shot wide after being set up in the box.

Another chance from out wide when Ademola Lookman was teed up. His effort was on target, forcing a corner from which Leicester kept the pressure on without finding a breakthrough.

At the other end, Forest almost took the lead when the ball fell to Davis in the box. He controlled it with his chest and swung at it with a left-footed volley, which struck the upright.

And Forest did take the lead shortly after. A cross from Johnson was headed down by Davis into the path of Zinckernagel, who connected – albeit not smoothly – to convert.

Remarkably, Forest doubled the lead almost instantly courtesy of Johnson. He intercepted a poor backpass from James Justin and slid the ball under Ward and into the net to make it 2-0 just 24 seconds after it had become 1-0.

This caught a few by surprise!

Seconds after Nottingham Forest took the lead… they scored another through Brennan Johnson!

Absolute scenes at the City Ground!

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Forest kept piling on the pressure and forced Ward into action when Zinckernagel tried to find the bottom corner. And from the resulting corner, it became 3-0 when Worrall headed the ball into the ground and over the line.

The hosts were cutting through their Premier League opponents. Next to take aim was Spence, but Ward stood firm this time.

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Leicester City reduce deficit before Forest strike again

And at the other end, Leicester pulled one back. Forest goalkeeper Brice Samba came off his line and was rounded by Iheanacho, who still had a lot of work to do. The striker finished past a diving defender from a tight angle to reduce the deficit.

Leicester knew they had to change something still as they went in at the break. Promptly, Brendan Rodgers sent on Patson Daka for Harvey Barnes.

The Foxes fought in the opening stages of the second half, with James Maddison pulling a shot wide, for example.

There was drama when Leicester unsuccessfully appealed for a penalty when Lookman went down softly in the box. Then, Forest broke and Zinckernagel forced another save from Ward.

But the danger remained alive and Spence played a one-two with Zinckernagel before prodding the ball into the bottom corner to restore Forest’s three-goal cushion.

Leicester’s chances were now looking even dimmer. And Samba made sure to keep them at bay with a smart save from Daniel Amartey.

Another chance for a consolation came when Ricardo Pereira fired wide from the edge of the box. But the end result was in little doubt by that point.

Indeed, when the final whistle blew, it was Forest’s players who could be celebrating. Their cup adventure continues, but Leicester’s is over.

READ MORE: Leicester boss Rodgers makes ‘big’ admission ahead of summer transfer window

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