The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Foxes stretch lead to seven
PREMIER LEAGUE: Leicester capitalise on Tottenham’s Anfield draw to move clear at the top of the table
Claudio Ranieri insists leaders Leicester answered any doubters as they moved seven points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League.
Captain Wes Morgan’s first goal of the season earned the Foxes a 1-0 win over Southampton to put clear distance between them and Tottenham in the table.
Spurs had drawn 1-1 at Liverpool on Saturday to hand Leicester the chance to stretch their remarkable lead 24 hours later.
Boss Ranieri recognised their rivals were waiting for a slip and, while he still refused to talk about the title, believes the Foxes proved they have staying power at the top.
He said: “It was a good answer to the Premier League because now everybody is waiting for us after the Liverpool v Tottenham draw. We gave a very good answer.
“I am very calm. We believe in what we are doing, we believe it’s a magical season and believe next season won’t be the same, but then we try. We try to do our best. Other teams can win 3-0, 4-0, we have to fight to win 1-0. We must be focused in our way.”
Leicester were not at their best yesterday, but only former Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster denied them more goals as he stopped Jose Fonte scoring an own goal before saving from Danny Simpson.
Manchester United kept up their push for a top four finish with a 1-0 win over Everton at Old Trafford.
Anthony Martial scored the only goal as Louis Van Gaal’s United side moved back within a point of fourth-placed Manchester City.
Van Gaal said: “Today was not our best form because I think we were not fresh enough, and we had more or less three days preparation.
“You never know as a manager how players are coming back from the international break. Everton were much fresher and you could see that.”
City beat Bournemouth 4-0 on Saturday with third-placed Arsenal beating Watford by the same score after Chelsea had also won 4-0 against Aston Villa.