Warning signs for Leicester as Barcelona ease past the Foxes

Barcelona 4 Leicester City 2

There were more ominous signs for Leicester City on Wednesday night as fears that their stunning Premier League triumph may go down as a one-season wonder comtinue to grow.

The Foxes, thrashed 4-0 by Paris Saint-Germain at the weekend, were brushed aside 4-2 by Barcelona in their latest International Champions Cup spanking.

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Don't be fooled by the final scoreline. The Foxes were 3-0 down at half-time and with the game won their opponents made changes at the break and allowed Leicester to salvage some respectability in the second-half.

Both sides started the match in Stockholm with strong line-ups, Leicester fielding Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy and Barcelona giving Suarez and Lionel Messi a run. And the two South Americans gave Leicester the runaround in a first-half dominated by the Spanish giants.

Messi in particular was in dazzling form in his role as a withdrawn forward and he had a hand in all three first-half goals. The first came on 26 minutes when Messi's through ball was fired home by Munir el Haddadi, and then ten minutes later the Argentine fed Suarez, who produced a sublime finish to double Barcelona's advantage.

The third goal came on the stroke of half-time, Messi launching a counter-attack that enabled Munir to score his second.

Barcelona brought off Marlon and Aleix Vidal at half-time while Leicester introduced seven new faces, among them new signing Ahmed Musa, and he made an instant impact. Showing his lightning pace, he outstripped the Barcelona defence to pull one back for the Foxes, and the 23-year-old Nigerian - a £16m summer signing from CSKA Moscow - added a second midway through the second half with a crisp strike.

The last word, however, went to Barcelona, with Rafa Mujica getting their fourth of the night six minutes from time to leave Leicester winless in the international Champions Cup with the 1-1 draw against Celtic their only points in the tournament.

Their final warm-up of the season before they begin the defence of their Premier League title against Hull on Saturday week is Sunday's Community Shield clash with Manchester United at Wembley.

That will pit Foxes manager Claudio Ranieri against Jose Mourinho, a man who once described him as a "loser", and while he has shaken off that tag, the joyous spring that brought Leicester the title could soon give way to a chilly autumn.

"I'm very, very pleased with our performance, because I saw the right spirit," Ranieri said after the Barcelona defeat. "Of course to make our football we need more fitness, but we are in a good moment at this time with the pre-season preparation."