Defoe strikes as Sunderland continue Leicester woe

Britain Football Soccer - Sunderland v Leicester City - Premier League - The Stadium of Light - 3/12/16 Sunderland's Jordan Pickford celebrates after making a save as Leicester City players look on dejected Action Images via Reuters / Lee Smith Livepic

Sunderland boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation after a Robert Huth own goal and a clinical finish by Jermain Defoe gave them a 2-1 win over beleaguered Premier League champions Leicester City on Saturday.

Huth turned a glancing Jan Kirchoff header into his own net in the 64th minute and Defoe made it 2-0 with a first-time shot from 12 metres in the 77th before Shinji Okazaki pulled one back for Leicester, who suffered their sixth league defeat in seven away games this season.

The ouctome also stretched Leicester striker Jamie Vardy's goal drought to 16 club games, leaving the champions perilously close to the relegation zone in 15th position with 13 points from 14 games.

Sunderland, who leapt from the bottom of the table into 18th position on 11 points from 14 games, dominated throughout and only some desperate defending by Leicester prevented the Black Cats from taking the lead in the first half.

(Writing by Zoran Milosavljevic, editing by Neil Robinson)