Sports.
Tuesday 26th April , 2016 6:05 am
Leicester City will win the Premier League if they beat Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. Victory at the home of the 20-time English champions would secure the title after Tottenham could only draw 1-1 at home to West Brom on Monday.
It leaves Spurs seven points adrift of Leicester with each team only having three games left.
Claudio Ranieri’s unfancied side started the season as 5,000-1 outsiders for the title. Usual championship contenders Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and defending champions Chelsea have struggled for consistency. Speaking after Monday’s game, West Brom boss Tony Pulis told BBC Radio 5 live:
“I just want Leicester to win it. Leicester is such a wonderful story and I don’t think it can happen anywhere else but in this country.
“What Leicester can do is dig results out and that’s what they’ve done. I just think it’s a wonderful, wonderful story.
But they still have a lot of work to do.” Former Leicester and England striker Gary Lineker has previously suggested his hometown club were on the “edge of sporting immortality”.
The Match of the Day presenter – also an ex-Spurs and Everton player – said it would be the “most unlikely triumph in the history of team sport”.
MOTD pundit and former England striker Alan Shearer, who won the title with Blackburn Rovers in 1995, has also described a potential Leicester title victory as “the best story of all time”. Leicester, owned by Thai billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, have never won the English top-flight title. They have already qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history.
The Foxes started the season among the favourites for relegation, with only the three promoted sides – Watford, Norwich and Bournemouth – longer odds for the title.
Italian Ranieri, who took charge when Nigel Pearson was sacked in the summer, was seen as an uninspired choice by some fans and pundits after Pearson masterminded a run of seven wins in nine games as the Foxes escaped relegation in 2014-15. Reaction Former Tottenham midfielder and Match of the Day pundit Jermaine Jenas said:
“Everyone’s pinching themselves because it’s an unbelievable achievement. In terms of a sporting story it’s one of the biggest ever. “These players will be legends at Leicester.
They will have done it with class and quality and it’s good for football. It’s a beautiful story.
“If I were a Leicester player, the incentive for that game at Old Trafford is immense. Spurs knew they would need to win every game and it will take a major shift and massive luck to win the league.” Ex Leicester defender Matt Elliott told BBC Radio 5 live:
“Leicester can win the title at Old Trafford – it sounds incredible. I’m covering it on the radio and there are three of us going up in the car. If they win, it won’t be me driving home.
“I’m not used to this sort of media attention. It’s a big result tonight. There’s still work to do but in most people’s eyes it is done and dusted – I’m sure Claudio Ranieri will say something different to the players.”
Source: bbc.com
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