Holders Leicester thrashed by Nottingham Forest in FA Cup fourth round

NOTTINGHAM, England : Leicester City's hopes of retaining the FA Cup came to a brutal end as they suffered a 4-1 drubbing away to Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest in the fourth round at a rocking City Ground on Sunday.

In the first clash between the clubs for eight years, a rampant Forest scored three times in 10 manic first-half minutes with Philip Zinckernagel, Brennan Johnson and Joe Worrall all punishing some flimsy Leicester defending.

Forest's buoyant fans were briefly silenced when Leicester grabbed a lifeline before halftime as Kelechi Iheanacho pounced on an error to score from an acute angle.

But there was no stopping the hosts and they continued to dominate their supposed superiors after the break and restored their three-goal margin when Djed Spence slotted home.

Forest have now beaten Arsenal, the FA Cup's most successful club, and the holders in consecutive rounds and will be eyeing a quarter-final place after being drawn to play Championship rivals Huddersfield Town in round five.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis)