Foxes breathe a sigh of relief after lucky draw
CLAUDIO Ranieri claims Leicester’s dramatic escape in their 2-2 draw against West Ham has bolstered his players’ belief they are set to become Premier League champions.
Ranieri’s side were seconds away from a damaging defeat at the King Power Stadium on Sunday after late goals from Andy Carroll and Aaron Cresswell put West Ham ahead following Leicester striker Jamie Vardy’s dismissal for diving.
It was the kind of predicament that would have finished off a less spirited team, but the Foxes refused to surrender and won a dubious penalty deep into stoppage-time when referee Jonathan Moss ruled Carroll had tripped Jeffrey Schlupp.
Leonardo Ulloa stepped up to slam home the penalty to leave Leicester eight points clear of second placed Tottenham.
Although Tottenham can close the gap to five points with a win at Stoke in a game that was set for last night and Vardy will be suspended for next Sunday’s game against Swansea, Ranieri refused to dwell on the negatives.
Moss’s performance infuriated Lei fans, who booed him off even after his late penalty decision saved their team.
In truth, Vardy could have few complaints about his second booking for trying to win a penalty by running into Angelo Ogbonna and then throwing himself to the turf. But Ranieri protested the England forward’s innocence. “Jamie never dives, he goes very fast and at his speed if you touch a little...” he said. “I’m very sad, not because of the sending off but because he can’t play the next match.”
But Ranieri insisted there was no reason to panic because his team have already achieved so much during their incredible campaign.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic took a harsher view of Moss after the referee’s last-gasp penalty decision. “Of course it’s not a penalty. What happened makes us feel very frustrated. That puts a shadow on one hell of a game,” he said.” — AFP AFP