WITH a 3-1 win at Manchester City, Leicester showed why it really could be lifting the Premier League trophy for the first time in May.
From 5,000-1 outsiders for the title in August, Leicester became the 7/4 favorites with several British bookmakers on Saturday after going five points clear at the top.
“I don’t believe in the bookmakers,” Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri said. “The bookmakers at the beginning said Ranieri would be the first to be sacked. Then?”
Then, Leicester went on to lose only two out of 25 league games and to close in on the most astonishing title challenge in the modern English game.
City’s home loss to Leicester was compounded by Tottenham edging Watford 1-0 and replacing Manuel Pellegrini’s team in second place.
Both games saw defenders scoring rare goals, with Kieran Trippier netting for the first time for Tottenham and Robert Huth claiming a double for Leicester.
City conceded after only three minutes to Leicester, with Huth pouncing on the ball after Riyad Mahrez’s free kick bounced through the penalty area. Mahrez started the second half by powering a shot past goalkeeper Joe Hart before Huth netted again on the hour. City, whose Abu Dhabi investment fueled 2012 and 2014 title triumphs, has now failed at six opportunities to beat any of the top six teams this season.
“It was our chance at home to recover the lead in the table,” said Pellegrini, who is being replaced by Pep Guardiola at the end of the season. “We couldn’t do it and now we are six points behind Leicester.”
When Ranieri took over a Leicester team that came close to being relegated last season the former Chelsea manager’s mission was just keeping Leicester in the topflight.
Now the Italian’s mission is downplaying giddy talk of Leicester winning the league.
“I am sorry because we know it’s a crazy league and we have to try in this crazy league and there are some big teams who have to win,” Ranieri said. “We just enjoy it. We don’t believe anything. We want to fight of course but without pressure.
“For us it is important to play and to continue in this way because it’s a strange league.” Strange sums the season perfectly.
No pundit predicted Chelsea would currently be 13th - without Jose Mourinho - and preparing for a game on Sunday against a Manchester United side in fifth place.
Unthinkable five years ago was the prospect of protests by Liverpool fans against club owner, the Fenway Sports Group, which ended the despised Anfield reign of American duo Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr.
But the jubilant scenes that greeted the Oct. 2010 takeover seemed a distant memory on Saturday as thousands ofLiverpool fans walked out of the ground in the 77th minute of the game against Sunderland to protest some ticket prices rising to 77 pounds ($112).
In the 77th minute, Liverpool was leading 2-0 after goals from Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana, but Adam Johnson and Jermain Defoe both netted for Sunderlandin in the final 10 minutes to grab a point for the strugglers.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp missed the game with a bout of suspected appendicitis.
Liverpool was overtaken by crosstown rival Everton, which moved into seventh place by winning 3-0 at Stoke, ending a run of five English Premier League matches without a win in emphatic style.
The Toffees scored all three before the interval courtesy of Romelu Lukaku, Seamus Coleman, and Aaron Lennon.
Lukaku opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland brought down Tom Cleverley inside the area. Cleverley was also involved in the second, with his corner being headed home by Coleman.
Stoke gifted the visitors a third when defender Philipp Wollscheid’s ball across the field was intercepted by Lennon, who raced toward goal before calmly slotting beyond Butland.
The win moved Everton up to seventh, two points ahead of Stoke in 11th.
Aston Villa won for only the third time this season but remained bottom despite beating Norwich 2-0. Sunderland is four points ahead of Villa next-from-bottom. Joleon Lescott headed the home side in front on the stroke of half-time at Villa Park, before Gabriel Agbonlahor made it two just after the interval.
Newcastle moved out of the Premier League relegation zone with a 1-0 win overWest Bromwich Albion on Saturday, swapping places with Norwich.
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored the only goal in the 32nd minute at St. James’ Park. Jonjo Shelvey split the visitors’ defense with a perfectly-weighted pass for the Serbian international to beat the advancing Ben Foster.
Mitrovic’s fifth goal of the season came only three minutes after Cheick Tiote saw a spectacular effort ruled out for offside. With 13 matches remaining, Newcastle is 17th with 24 points - one more than Norwich, which lost 2-0 at last-place Aston Villa. West Brom has 29 points but is without a win in five league matches.
Crystal Palace halted a run of five successive league losses by drawing 1-1 atSwansea.
Scott Dann cancelled out Gylfi Sigurdsson’s opener and the Liberty Stadium stalemate left Swansea unbeaten in four games under their new head coach Francesco Guidolin with his team remaining in 16th and Palace staying put in 12th.
The in-form Sigurdsson fired the Swans into a 13th minute lead, the Icelandic striker curling a free-kick over the Palace wall and into the bottom right-hand corner of Wayne Hennessey’s goal.
This was Sigurdsson’s fifth goal in six Premier League outings. The set-piece was conceded by Palace new recruit Emmanuel Adebayor on his first start.
Palace came out for the second half staring at a sixth straight League defeat. But Dann averted that danger in the 47th minute, the centre-back volleying in a corner from close range for the centre-back’s fifth goal of the campaign.
Ten-man Southampton overcame a sending off early in the second half to beatWest Ham 1-0 in the late game.
Saints midfielder Victor Wanyama was dismissed in the 54th minute for a lunge on Dimitri Payet with his side having taken a first-half lead through defender Maya Yoshida.
That was Wanyama’s third red card in 13 league appearances this season, but despite the man disadvantage the home side held on for all three points. Yoshida capitalized on some poor defending to poke home early, and at the other end, goalkeeper Fraser Forster produced an instinctive save shortly before the half-hour mark to deny West Ham defender Winston Reid’s firm header.
Hammers substitute Emmanuel Emenike should have leveled in the second half shortly after his introduction, but he headed wide following Enner Valencia’s right cross.
Another substitute, Charlie Austin, missed the chance to double the Saints’ lead with three minutes remaining, shooting wide after being played through on goal.
The victory moves Southampton up to seventh, two points adrift of West Ham, which remains in sixth.
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