So it turns out you can be cruel to Foxes on Boxing Day after all.
Fox-hunting may be banned, but that did not stop Manchester City from subjecting the Foxes to a mauling on what was traditionally a big day in the hunting calendar.
Leicester, already decimated by injuries and Covid, were ripped apart by Pep Guardiola's side in the first-half, showing their opponents no mercy by going for the kill from the off.
But the Foxes fought back, scoring three times in the second-half, to reduce the deficit to one goal, before City plundered two more to give themselves the breathing space they needed.
A Covid outbreak saw Leicester's home game against Tottenham postponed, and Brendan Rodgers' players must have wished this fixture had suffered the same fate after 25 minutes, when they found themselves 4-0 down.
But if City do have a weakness, amid their wonderful passing and movement, it is their occasional collective switching off, which is at odds with their breathtaking attacking play.
It surfaced again here, allowing Leicester a route back into the game that few saw coming, before Guardiola's side regrouped in time to see it out.
For all the hard work they made of it, this was City's ninth successive league win, the champions extending their lead at the top of the table and showing they remain the team to beat.
At the halfway stage of the campaign, City have 47 points, six more than last season, when they strolled to the title by a 12-point margin from nearest rivals Manchester United.
City played like men possessed from kick-off, putting Leicester under relentless pressure and taking the lead after just five minutes.
Kevin De Bruyne showed sublime technique to bring down Fernandinho's lofted pass before turning sharply and burying an emphatic finish beyond Kasper Schmeichel.
That lead was doubled after 14 minutes, City awarded a penalty after a VAR review, Youri Tielemans guilty of holding back Aymeric Laporte as a corner came in.
Referee Chris Kavangah went to the pitch-side monitor to review the incident and awarded a spot-kick, which was duly dispatched by Riyad Mahrez.
Leicester came close to pulling a goal back in the 18 th minute, James Maddison curling a majestic free-kick which was tipped onto the bar by Ederson, who had to be at full-stretch to reach it.
It was the only time the visitors threatened in the opening 45 minutes, with normal service resumed in the 21 st minute, when Gundogan made it 3-0.
It was a simple finish, the goal owing everything to the mesmeric slick build-up that preceded it, involving Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne and Joao Cancelo.
Leicester were still reeling from that goal when City won a second penalty, Tielemans again the culprit, this time with a lazy trip on Raheem Sterling.
There was no need for VAR to intervene on this occasion, the foul clear for all to see, Sterling converting from the spot.
Leicester rallied after the break, with three goals in 10 minutes from James Maddison, Ademola Lookman and Kelechi Iheanacho, as City suffered a collective brain freeze.
But City restored the breathing space they needed, Laporte getting above Luke Thomas to score with a looping header and Sterling claiming his second of the game with three minutes to go.
