Throwback Thursday: Remembering Leicester's 5000/1 title triumph three years ago today

It’s three years to the day that Tottenham threw away a two-goal lead at Stamford Bridge to draw 2-2 with Chelsea. Spurs went in at the break 2-0 up but fell apart after the interval as goals from Gary Cahill and Eden Hazard saw the spoils shared in the ‘Battle of the Bridge’. The draw signalled a downturn in form that culminated in Spurs finishing third, but also confirmed Leicester as Premier League champions in 2016. 

The Foxes, who only staved off relegation in the final weeks of the previous season, secured a 5000/1 feat of securing silverware in the unlikeliest of title triumphs. Few believed Leicester would go all the way, but with each passing week it was a case of changing attitudes from ‘no, they can’t do it’ to ‘they might just win the league, you know?' 

In guiding Leicester to the title, Claudio Ranieri masterminded one of the finest achievements in Premier League history, which was all the more impressive as few gave Leicester a chance of staying in England’s top tier, let alone ending the campaign top of the expensively assembled pile. Nigel Pearson was relieved of his duties at the King Power Stadium in June 2015 due to off-field issues and after a disastrous spell in international management, few gave Leicester any hope of survival with Ranieri at the helm. 

Yet the team came together impressively to land a once-in-a-lifetime achievement to etch their name into the history books. Ranieri set his team up to play to their strengths and live up to their underdog tag. That meant sitting deep before breaking forward at breakneck speed as no team scored more goals from counter-attacking situations than Leicester (5), four of which were through Jamie Vardy, that more than any other player. 

Maximising his speed off the ball and willingness to routinely run in behind opposing defenders, a trait that still works to this day, saw him score 24 of Leicester’s 68 goals in their title winning season. Only Manchester City (71) and Tottenham (69) scored more goals than the Foxes that campaign despite Leicester returning the third lowest possession average (44.7%) so the plan was clear - soak up pressure, win the ball and spring upfield. 

Key to that coming to fruition was N’Golo Kante. Now a household name in the Premier League, Leicester struck gold with Kante as they secured his services from Caen for just £5.6m that summer. The World Cup winner, now a regular starter with Chelsea having left Leicester following just one season with Leicester, made more tackles and interceptions (331) than any other player that season as he forged a fine understanding with Danny Drinkwater in Leicester’s 4-4-2 setup, with the running joke being Leicester play with three in midfield; Kante either side of Drinkwater. 

His all-action displays earned him widespread with Kante’s job simply to win the ball and shift possession on to Drinkwater, who would look to spot the run of his attacking teammates, with it no surprise that the now Chelsea midfielder averaged more accurate long balls per game (3.9) of all outfield Leicester players that season. Of his seven league assists that season, five were for Vardy with the two players very much on the same wavelength when Leicester did break forward. 

With a natural crosser in Marc Albrighton on one flank and the rapid Riyad Mahrez on the other, Drinkwater wasn’t devoid of attacking outlets, with the latter enjoying a memorable campaign that culminated in a big-money move to Manchester City 12 months after Leicester’s title triumph. 

Mahrez was the only player to register double figures for both goals (17) and assists (11) that season to return a better WhoScored rating (7.84) than any other Premier League player. After a so-so debut campaign in England’s top tier, the Algerian was in blistering form for the champions-elect as he swept up the individual player awards and rightly so. There were a number of other factors for Leicester’s title success, including the solid centre-back partnership of Wes Morgan and Robert Huth, while Christian Fuchs’ arrival injected experience into defence. Kasper Schmeichel also pulled off a number of stunning stops that ensured Leicester set the pace in the race for the title. 

Given the vast investment in the Premier League, with Manchester City and Liverpool, two teams who have spent big in recent years, chasing the title, we’re unlikely to see another title triumph of Leicester’s kind in England. They’ll forever be remembered for not only upsetting the apple cart, but toppling it completely as they achieved arguably the greatest underdog sporting success in English football this century.