Leicester City confirmed themselves as group winners in the Champions League last night as they beat Club Brugge 2-1 at the King Power Stadium.

Shinji Okazaki and Riyad Mahrez both scored in the first half as the Foxes made it four wins out of five in their debut campaign: Jose Izquierdo's goal was not enough for the Belgians as Wes Morgan and his men held out.

The goalless draw played out by Porto and FC Copenhagen also confirmed that Leicester would finish first in their group, and hoping to secure an easier knockout draw in the process.

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The news will come as a relief to Claudio Ranieri, who can now concentrate on arresting a league slump that has seen them lose six league games - already two times the number of defeats in the entirety of last season - and sitting just two points above the relegation zone.

Many have put their struggles down to the fact they are focusing their attentions on Europe, with away defeats to Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea all coming before midweek games.

The Foxes' recent form suggests there may be more to their limp title defence than focusing on Champions League progression.

Whilst Leicester have rightly been praised for their achievements in Europe this season, anybody who watched the games will have noticed they haven't been on the top of their form.

It took an incredible Kasper Schmeichel performance to keep the score at 0-0 when they travelled to Copenhagen, while they were fortunate to hold on to three points on Tuesday night.

Kasper Schmeichel save

They also surrendered their unbeaten run at the King Power with an awful performance against West Bromwich Albion at the start of the month, whilst they were also woeful against Watford last weekend.

Leicester arguably haven't put in a good performance since they beat Crystal Palace five games ago.

Jamie Vardy hasn't scored in 14 games for the club, Riyad Mahrez isn't dazzling like he did last season and too much work is being put on the shoulders of Danny Drinkwater.

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While N'Golo Kante's departure to Chelsea has undoubtedly had an impact it would be reductive to think one player was the reason a side could go from champions to relegation candidates.

Perhaps Leicester revelled too much in being underdogs - they certainly struggle to break down those teams that show them respect and sit back, as Hull City showed on the opening day. That would also explain why they have done so well in Europe.

Tuesday night's win gives Ranieri just under three months to sort out their league form before the next round of the Champions League, showing just how much of a blessing yesterday's results may prove.

Hopefully for Leicester fans he will reinstall some of the defensive resolve that saw them keep 15 clean sheets last term and they can pick up some points on what is - on paper at least - a favourable set of fixtures from now until Christmas.

Leicester should enjoy their achievements and be excited about battling Europe's elite in the knockout stages. But if the fans think a break from Europe will solve their league crisis, they're in for an unpleasant surprise.

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