People’s CHAMPIONS
WHEN Claudio Ranieri walked along the touchline to take his seat before this match, something unexpected occurred; something which appeared to sum up the mood of the entire football nation.
Crystal Palace fans in the Main Stand began to applaud. Ranieri acknowledged them and so several then rose to their feet in appreciation and the opposition manager was clapped all the way to the bench at Selhurst Park.
Ranieri has no ties to Palace; there is no deep well of affection for him here. In some ways it was just a throwback to old-fashioned gallantry.
Yet it represented something more significant. For at the end, despite their bitter disappointment, many Palace fans waited for the Leicester players to finish their celebrations on the pitch and make their way to the tunnel. And then they emphatically applauded their opponents off the pitch.
Leicester City have become the champion of any club outside the big five. Their tale is more than improbable; it was inconceivable. But no longer. Leicester City are heading towards the Premier League title and so they give hope to all apparent lost causes everywhere. And Ranieri, as genial a man as can be found in football, can be a title winner for the first time at the age of 64.
The goodwill is almost palpable. ‘I have felt this,’ said Ranieri. ‘A lot of people are like this. Also teams of fans in the title race with us say, “If we don’t win, I hope Leicester can win”. I think because a lot of people say Leicester play with heart, with spirit to try to do something unbelievable. But we have to be focused in our job.
‘Now everybody is speaking about us, not just in England but in all the world. Everyone is pushing behind us and that is a great energy we feel. And if someone is better than us then well done; well done. We did a fantastic achievement. Some time ago I said we are at the last turn of the race. And now we are in the home straight. I can see the line and now I want to see my horses, how they run.’
No-one dared mention Devon Loch, as Sir Alex Ferguson once did to spook Newcastle United. But Ranieri cannot yet join in the general chorus of acclamation. Asked if he had taken a huge step to the title, he Magic Mahrez strikes to put Leicester just six wins from most amazing title win in history, but already they are the... emitted a deep sigh. ‘Ufff,’ he said, in exasperation. ‘Look: seven matches. It is not easy for us.
‘You know we are Leicester. We aren’t a team like United, City, Chelsea. If they were five or eight points clear it would be finished. With us, no, we have to fight every match. Now we are in the Europa League and very close to achieving the Champions League, that is true. Our fans are singing, that is fantastic, but we have to stay calm and concentrate because seven matches are open matches.
‘To my players I say, everything is in our hands. We have to push. It’s not important the others. No-one is helping us. It’s normal. It’s sport. Then we have to do our job. Then if somebody goes over us, “Well done”. They are the champion. If not, we continue to fight.’
Ranieri has mastered the psychology of keeping his players focused. One-nil wins are the markers of title-winning sides, and they have three in the last four games. And he has a lovely turn of phrase for nurturing his team through the run-in. ‘Just to manage them softly,’ he said. ‘And kill them softly when they make some mistakes.’ Roberta Flack would approve.
They survived their scares. In the 90th minute Scott Dann’s header was taken down superbly by Damien Delaney, who executed a fine volley which ricocheted off the bar. But for the most part they controlled this game and looked nerveless.
In the first half, in which Leicester played better, Palace still had chances. When Yannick Bolasie dashed down the left and crossed for Wilfried Zaha, the winger really should have scored but shanked his shot into the stands. When Bolasie weaved his way through their defence on 37 minutes, it was Kasper Schmeichel who came to the rescue with a superb save with his foot.
That said, Leicester too came close on 20 minutes when Danny Drinkwater, excellent in front of England manager Roy Hodgson, had played in Riyad Mahrez with a superb ball only for Wayne Hennessey to deny him.
When Leicester took the lead it felt like a goal you had seen several times before. Mahrez crossed from the right and Palace cleared but the ball was worked across to Vardy on the left. He took on his man, found space and fired in a cross. By now Mahrez had drifted in, Pape Souare unaccountably failing to follow him, and he was unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box to finish.
Souare’s half would end in a booking and then substitution; it had been a poor effort. Emmanuel Adebayor also went off at half-time and Palace improved but to no avail. They have their own issues to address: 13 games without a win, a run which includes nine defeats. Their next home game is against Norwich, winners yesterday, now fourth bottom and five points behind.
‘It’s a pretty big game for us,’ said Alan Pardew. ‘We’ve got enough in that dressing room to make sure we’re not (in trouble) but the bottom line is to get some points quickly.’
There was one glorious moment of comedy amid the second-half tension when Dann literally took the shirt off Robert Huth’s back. No penalty was awarded. It didn’t matter. By the end, the Leicester fans refused to leave, standing in their enclosure repeatedly singing: ‘And now you’re going to believe us. We’re going to win the league.’