Underdog Wes relishes battle
WES MORGAN is adamant Leicester’s title challenge will not crumble despite Sunday’s heartbreaking defeat at Arsenal.
Premier League leaders Leicester suffered only their third defeat of the season as they lost 2- 1 at the Emirates, with Danny Welbeck scoring the winner in injury time.
Claudio Ranieri’s side are still top by two points and centre- half Morgan, above, said: “That defeat will not affect our confi dence. We have to take heart from that game.
“We’ve shown our endeavour, our togetherness and how well we can stick in there when things go against us.
“Everyone loves an underdog and that’s us. We’re delighted to have that backing. You have to relish and enjoy it. There’s not many people who get to be top and fi ghting for the title.
“The pressure won’t get to us. We just want to prove how good we can be. Our aim at the start of the season was to go off the back of the previous campaign, when everyone saw how we avoided relegation. It was to do more of the same.”
Leicester’s next game is against struggling Norwich at home on Saturday week and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel said: “We have only lost three games so we will not get bogged down by this, in the same way we do not get too far ahead of ourselves if we win.
“Why shouldn’t we bounce back? It is a loss, we move on and we will have the same attitude.” VINCENT KOMPANY has reminded Manchester City’s title rivals not to forget recent history.
City captain Kompany is refusing to believe Manuel Pellegrini’s team cannot hit back once again to win a third Premier League championship in fi ve seasons.
Successive home defeats to top- four rivals Leicester and Tottenham have pushed City back to fourth place – six points adrift of leaders Leicester with 12 matches to go.
But Kompany pointed out they were in far worse positions in both 2012, when they were eight points behind leaders Manchester United with six matches left, and 2014, when they were nine adrift of Liverpool with fi ve games remaining. They came back on both occasions to clinch the title on the fi nal day.
“There is not a chance we will give up on the title,” said Kompany, whose long- awaited comeback was overshadowed by Sunday’s 2- 1 defeat by Spurs. “We would be stupid to forget our history and how we P W D L F APTS LEICESTER 26 15 8 3 48 29
53 TOTTENHAM 26 14 9 3 47 20
51 ARSENAL 26 15 6 5 41 23
51 MAN CITY 26 14 5 7 48 28
47 6- 4 Arsenal, 5- 2 Tottenham, 3- 1 Leicester, 6- 1 Manchester City react in those moments. It’s a setback but we wouldn’t know our personal history well if we didn’t expect us to kick on from here.
“No way are we giving up or letting ourselves be beaten down by this defeat. It will be a tough league for us but it will be a tough league for everyone else as well.”
In 2012, United’s shock defeat by Wigan and home draw with Everton – having been 4- 2 up with fi ve minutes to go – opened the door for City, who then beat United to go level on points with two matches to go.
Both teams won their penultimate games and United thought they had scrambled home on an unforgettable fi nal day with a 1- 0 win at Sunderland – before, famously and incredibly, City scored two added- time goals and Sergio Aguero’s strike snatched a 3- 2 win against QPR to secure the title on goal difference. It was City’s sixth successive win. In 2014, Liverpool suffered a similar collapse to United. They lost at home to Chelsea then threw away a 3- 0 lead to draw at Crystal Palace, leaving City needing a fi nal- day home win over West Ham to lift the title by two points. They did it with a fi fth successive win.
Kompany says this season has been so unpredictable no- one can be sure how it will pan out.
“Playing Spurs is diffi cult but playing anyone else in the league is diffi cult,” he said. “I was speaking before to the Spurs boys and I said, ‘ Pick your game and tell me which one is HARRY KANE claims the belief and character among his Tottenham team- mates is helping to fuel their title bid.
With Spurs in their highest league position at this stage of the season since 1985, hopes are soaring of a fi rst championship since Bill Nicholson’s legendary Double winners in 1961.
And after chalking up a seventh consecutive win in the league and cup by completing the double over going to be easy’. There are none. This Premier League is crazy and that’s why we’re just not going to give up. “We need all our experience and character now. Sunday was not one of those days where you say we didn’t look a good team, it’s just that they did well to win.
“We don’t have to look at the next game and say we have to change everything drastically. We are in a good way and will get there. No one is allowed to give up on anything.”
A big positive for City is that against Spurs Kompany title rivals Manchester City 2- 1 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, Kane says Mauricio Pochettino’s young squad feel they can beat anyone.
“It’s the best belief we have got at the club since I came here,” said the England striker. “Everyone is just fi ghting for each other, we are putting bodies on the line and we’re all working towards the same goal.
“There’s still a long way to go but we feel we can beat anyone in the league and we have to keep putting completed his fi rst 90 minutes since November 8.
The Belgium international has missed 26 games this season because of a calf injury but he believes he is fi nally over the problem – and has actually come back stronger.
“I found out what the problem might be, and it should not be a problem long term,” he said. “I need to manage it for the fi rst few months, but that is one thing I have got out of the last six weeks.
“Is it behind me? Well, I’m always hopeful. I’ve worked extremely hard. There’s always that part that people don’t see, the things you do behind the in performances like that and putting teams away . It was a very important game, away from home against the team just behind us on points. We came away with the three points and it was a good solid performance.”
Kane admitted they had watched local rivals Arsenal snatch their added- time win over Leicester while eating their pre- match meal in their hotel .
He said: “Obviously it was a good game, a good fi nish, but we weren’t too fussed on who won or what the situation was. We were watching it