Worst defeats in football history ranked after Leicester embarrassed by Oxford in 4-0 League One thrashing

The beautiful game has served up countless memorable matches over the years, but the hidden side to every victory is the pain of defeat.

One of the most shocking losses of the season took place on Saturday afternoon, when Leicester City - who famously lifted the Premier League title in 2015-16 - were thrashed 4-0 by Oxford United at the King Power Stadium.

More than just the four-goal margin, such a staggering result meant that fans up and down the country were finally hit by the reality that the Foxes are languishing in League One, following back-to-back relegations.

The loss also brings to mind a number of shock results from years gone by, including England's elimination from Euro 2016 and Brazil's humiliation at the 2014 World Cup.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at the top five worst defeats in football history, after Leicester were embarrassed by Oxford

5. Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal - Premier League - August 28, 2011

The rivalry between Manchester United and Arsenal goes back decades, and fans of the Red Devils will always have their side's 8-2 demolition of the Gunners from August 2011 to brag about.

Man United were reigning Premier League champions and welcomed the Londoners - who had lost both Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri in the weeks prior - to Old Trafford just three games into the new season.

The hosts raced into an early lead, courtesy of Danny Welbeck, and when Arsenal's Robin van Persie had the chance to level from a penalty, he saw his spot kick saved by a 20-year-old David de Gea.

From that point on, United refused to take their foot off the pedal, delivering a monumental thrashing thanks to a Wayne Rooney hat-trick, an Ashley Young brace, and efforts from Nani and Park Ji-sung.

The unbelievable scoreline marked the Gunners' heaviest defeat since 1896, and remains the only 8-2 result in Premier League history.

4. England 1-2 Iceland - Euro 2016's Round of 16 - June 27, 2016

Euro 2016 saw Iceland make their major international tournament debut, and they entered the finals as the lowest-ranked side around.

However, the relative minnows pulled off one of the biggest upsets in modern football history when they knocked England out in the Round of 16, winning 2-1 at Nice's Allianz Riviera.

Rooney had given the Three Lions the lead with just four minutes on the clock, and it was assumed that his penalty would lead to a simple win for the giants, but Iceland had other ideas.

Ragnar Sigurdsson struck back just two minutes later, before Kolbeinn Sigthorsson put Lars Lagerback and Heimar Hallgrimsson's side in front, giving the team something to hold onto.

England manager Roy Hodgson immediately resigned in the aftermath, reading out a statement he wrote in the dressing room during his post-match press conference.

3. Barcelona 2-8 Bayern Munich - Champions League Quarter-Final - August 14, 2020

The 2019-20 Champions League and Europa League knockouts were played as a single-elimination tournament following delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Bayern Munich made sure their quarter-final was remembered for more than just the circumstances.

Thomas Muller put the Bavarians ahead a mere four minutes into the contest after being teed up by Robert Lewandowski, but an own goal from David Alaba levelled the clash moments later.

Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi had chances to give La Blaugrana the lead, yet the former was denied by Manuel Neuer, and the latter struck the post.

Unfortunately for the Catalan giants, further goals from Ivan Perisic, Serge Gnabry and Muller put Bayern 4-1 up and firmly in control of the tie before the interval, and shortly after a neat finish from Suarez gave Barca some hope prior to the hour mark, Joshua Kimmich crushed their spirit by adding a fourth for Bayern.

A 5-2 defeat would have been disappointing enough, but Barcelona loanee Philippe Coutinho was substituted on for the Bavarians and assisted a Lewandowski header, before netting two goals of his own to make the scoreline a humiliating 8-2 against his parent club.

That loss marked the first time that Barca had conceded eight times in one match since their 8-0 thrashing by Sevilla in 1946, and preceded a turbulent spell for the club as Messi handed in a transfer request just 11 days after the quarter-final.

2. Uruguay 2-1 Brazil - 1950 World Cup - July 16, 1950 (The Maracanazo)

In the 1950 World Cup's round robin final stage, Brazil arrived for the last game (a showdown against Uruguay at the Maracana) only needing a draw to clinch the trophy on home soil.

The Selecao were considered by many to already have their hands on the crown, and when Friaca put them 1-0 up moments into the second half, it seemed that the inevitable was coming to pass.

However, Juan Alberto Schiaffino mustered an equaliser around 20 minutes later, and when Alcides Edgardo Ghiggia struck home a late winner for Uruguay, the crowd was reportedly stunned into a now-legendary silence.

The iconic stadium welcomed 173,850 ticketed fans that day, meaning the largest official attendance ever recorded at a football match bore witness to this embarrassment, though there have been estimates placing the number of spectators closer to 200,000.

Uruguayan hero Ghiggia famously noted that "Only three people have ever silenced the Maracana... Sinatra, the Pope, and I," highlighting just how stunned Brazil was, and it is testament to the level of shock felt that the team abandoned their white strip in the aftermath.

This humiliating defeat was so impactful that it became known as 'The Maracanazo', meaning 'The Maracana Blow'.

1. Brazil 1-7 Germany - 2014 World Cup Semi-Final - July 8, 2014 (The Mineirazo)

Claiming the top spot on our list is Brazil's 7-1 destruction at the hands of Germany in their 2014 World Cup semi-final, a national humiliation so uncomfortably similar to The Maracanazo that it spawned a related name of its own - 'The Mineirazo'.

The Selecao were hosting the tournament, and welcomed Die Mannschaft to Estadio Mineirao expecting to progress, even if Neymar was out with a fractured vertebra, and Thiago Silva was suspended.

Unfortunately for Brazil, their emotion-driven pre-game optimism came crashing down within a devastating first 29 minutes that saw Muller open the scoring for Germany, before Miroslav Klose doubled their lead, Toni Kroos added a brace, and Sami Khedira made it 5-0.

That being said, the Europeans were far from finished, as substitute Andre Schurrle came off the bench to score twice after the break, the first set up by Philipp Lahm, and the second by Muller.

Brazil were at least able to secure a consolation goal, courtesy of attacking midfielder Oscar, though it did little to blunt the enormous blow of the loss.

The 7-1 defeat became the Selecao's biggest ever at a World Cup, and the heaviest ever suffered by a host nation, not to mention that it marked the largest margin of victory during a semi-final in the competition's history.

As if to add insult to injury, Klose's goal made him the all-time leading scorer in World Cup finals with 16 - surpassing the record that had previously been held by Brazil's Ronaldo - while Germany moved ahead of their opponents to become the highest-scoring nation in World Cups.