By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
It has happened. Leicester City are the champions of
England. The Foxes become only the sixth club in the 24-year history of the
Premier League to be crowned champions. The greatest story ever in Premier
League history has the ending it deserved. Tottenham’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea on
Monday night ensures that Leicester can’t be caught. Wes Morgan and his team
will get their hands on the title after Saturday’s night’s encounter with
Everton.
As with every season though, there are games that play a
huge part in a title success. Here are the 10 games I’ve selected involving
Leicester that has helped them win the Premier League title in 2016.
Leicester City 4-2 Sunderland – Saturday 8 August 2015
Every team wants to make an impact on the opening weekend of
the season and that is exactly what Leicester managed on the first day.
Sunderland were no more than bystanders as they were routed 4-2 and it could have
been by a bigger margin. Riyad Mahrez scored twice for the Foxes in a season
where he has scored 17 Premier League goals.
Leicester City 3-2 Aston Villa – Sunday 13 September 2015
This game would sum up the seasons for both teams. Aston
Villa bossed proceedings for the first hour and goals from Jack Grealish and
Carles Gil put them 2-0 up. The Foxes never quit though and they roared back in
the last half hour. Ritchie de Laet pulled the scoreline back to 2-1 before
Jamie Vardy levelled matters from close range in the last 10 minutes. With
stoppage time approaching, Nathan Dyer was braver than Bradley Guzan and headed
home the winning goal. The result kept Leicester in the top four and they would
remain in the Champions League positions for the rest of the campaign.
Leicester City 1-0 Crystal Palace – Saturday 24 October 2015
Leicester were doing great, but leaking goals on a regular
basis. Claudio Ranieri made some big changes after a 5-2 home defeat by Arsenal
at the end of September and changed both full-backs. Danny Simpson and
Christian Fuchs offered far more stability and they became almost the first
names on the teamsheet. This game in October saw them achieve their first clean
sheet of the season. Vardy got the only goal – his seventh game in a row he
found the target and the squad got a pizza each – as promised by the manager
once they kept a clean sheet.
Leicester City 1-1 Manchester United – Saturday 28 November 2015
This was the night where Jamie Vardy made history. Leicester
went into the weekend top of the table, but had some tough fixtures on the
horizon. First up were Manchester United, who were scraping late wins and at
this stage, in the thick of the title race. Midway through the first half,
Christian Fuchs played Vardy in. who kept his composure and slotted the ball
past David de Gea to score for the 11th successive Premier League
match running. He eclipsed the previous mark set by Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Bastian Schweinsteiger did equalise but this result indicated Ranieri’s side
were here to stay.
Leicester City 2-1 Chelsea – Monday 14 December 2015
One of the newspapers summed it up the morning afterwards – ‘Top
of the Table Leicester 2, Relegation Threatened Chelsea 1.’ On a chilly
Monday night, Leicester destroyed the soon-to-be ex-champions. Vardy opened the
scoring and Mahrez got the second with a dazzling moment of brilliance. Loic
Remy’s consolation was not enough for the visitors. The Foxes had slayed the
Blues from the Bridge. It was Chelsea’s 9th defeat of the season and
their limp performance typified their campaign. Three days later, manager Jose
Mourinho was sacked.
Manchester City 1-3 Leicester City – Saturday 6 February 2016
 |
| Riyad Mahrez took Leicester six points clear with his stunning display at Eastlands |
In February, Leicester travelled to Eastlands for a
lunchtime kick-off with a three-point advantage over their opponents. People
were still writing Claudio Ranieri’s team off at this stage but they would eat
humble pie after this performance. Robert Huth chose the perfect opportunity to
score a brace and Mahrez was at his brilliant best again, scoring a wonderful
solo goal. Leicester won 3-1 and that scoreline flattered Manchester City. They
arrived at the Etihad Stadium still as underdogs. They left as title favourites
after this irresistible display.
Leicester City 1-0 Norwich City – Saturday 27 February 2016
A fortnight had passed since Leicester’s agonising defeat in
the dying seconds to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. This was a test of their
character against relegation scrappers in Norwich City. They didn’t play well
but ground out a 1-0 victory with a winner from substitute Leonardo Ulloa in
the 89th minute. Now the fans really believed that the title was
their destiny.
Watford 0-1 Leicester City – Saturday 5 March 2016
After drawing in a midweek clash with West Bromwich Albion,
the squad enjoyed the following night’s action as all of their title rivals
were beaten. Tottenham and Arsenal had played out a 2-2 draw in the lunchtime
start, so the opportunity was now with Leicester to open up a crucial
five-point lead. Once more, they played badly but showed what champions do at
this stage of a campaign. Another piece of brilliance from Mahrez and another
three points gained at Vicarage Road towards ultimate glory.
Leicester City 2-2 West Ham United – Sunday 17 April 2016
 |
| Leonardo Ulloa celebrates his injury time equaliser against West Ham United |
By now, Arsenal and Manchester City’s title tilts had died.
It was down to two teams and Leicester were now seven points clear after
Tottenham failed to beat Liverpool FC at Anfield. This game with high-flying
West Ham United would turn out to be a very controversial afternoon. Vardy
opened the scoring, but was sent off in the opening moments of the second half
for two bookable offences. The Hammers then took the lead inside the last 10
minutes, courtesy of an Andy Carroll spot-kick and a stunning goal by Aaron
Cresswell. With only seconds remaining, referee Jon Moss gave another penalty,
this time to the hosts with Carroll guilty of barging Jeff Schlupp in the
penalty area. Ulloa stepped up, kept his cool and earned the Foxes a crucial
and valuable point against the odds.
Leicester City 4-0 Swansea City – Sunday 24 April 2016
Vardy was banned and following Tottenham’s outstanding
demolition of Stoke City six days earlier, the gap was now five points. Claudio
Ranieri came up with a tactical masterstroke. He started the pacey Schlupp
ahead of Marc Albrighton and played Ulloa from the start in Vardy’s absence.
Swansea simply couldn’t live with the home team, who recorded their biggest
victory of the season. The win was never in doubt once Mahrez had swept the leaders
into an 11th minute lead. Ulloa bagged a brace and Albrighton came
off the bench to score the fourth involving all three substitutes introduced by
Ranieri. The following night, Tottenham were held by West Bromwich Albion and
the title was all but Leicester’s.
A week later, it became official. Leicester City were
crowned Premier League champions, defying the odds time and again to achieve
the greatest story football has ever seen in this country.
Comments
Post a Comment