Sunderland made it five defeats in a row as league leaders Leicester City claimed all three points at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday.

The Black Cats' playoff hopes look to be all but gone after another home defeat, with interim Mike Dodds struggling to rejuvenate the squad following Michael Beale's sacking in February. 

It was always going to be tough against the Foxes, who have sat at the top of the Championship for much of the season, and veteran Jamie Vardy's early goal proved enough to secure a 1-0 win for Enzo Maresca's side. 

There is no denying that Leicester possess Premier League quality following their surprise relegation last season and the Foxes showed that in the first half on Tuesday. 

Vardy should have had the away side ahead early on when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall cut the ball back to him inside the box, but his shot was straight at Anthony Patterson, who got up quickly to deny Yunus Akgün on the follow up. 

However, the vastly-experienced Vardy wasn't to be denied his goal, and he found the opener on 13 minutes. 

A free-kick from the left was headed goalward by Wout Faes and while Patterson made another fine stop, Vardy reacted quickest to nod the rebound over the line.

Sunderland rarely threatened but did muster a shot on goal when Luke O'Nien's cross was met by Jobe Bellingham, but his header was tame and Mads Hermansen was able to easily collect it. 

The home side came out much more positively in the second period and kept Leicester's chances to a minimum, but failed to really create any of their own. 

However, with just minutes remaining, Sunderland felt they should have had a penalty when substitute Adil Aouchiche slid a through ball to Dominic Ballard. 

Unfortunately, the centre-back failed to take his opportunity to shoot and threw himself to the floor rather dramatically after contact from Hamza Choudhury, with referee Sunny Sukhvir Gill rightfully not convinced by his antics.

The result sees Sunderland drop to 10th in the second tier, with a tough trip to Southampton up next on Saturday.