Tears, no fears for Leicester

SUNDERLAND. — Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri played down his emotional response after the Foxes took their latest big step towards the English Premier League soccer title.

Ranieri left the pitch in tears after Jamie Vardy’s second-half double sealed a hardfought 2-0 win at relegation-threatened Sunderland on Sunday.

Leicester ended the day seven points clear of second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, with the 5 000/1 pre-season outsiders’ fairytale journey towards the title showing no sign of ending any time soon.

Now, if City win three of their five remaining league games they will be crowned champions of England for the first time in the Midlands club’s 132-year-history, regardless of what Spurs, or any of the chasing pack, do in the closing stages of the campaign.

Leicester City also qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history on Sunday.

Leicester’s win away to Sunderland allied to fifth-placed Manchester United’s 3-0 loss at Tottenham Hotspur guaranteed the Foxes a top-four finish and with it one of the places on offer to English teams in European club football’s elite competition next season. Vardy’s second-half double at the Stadium of Light powered Leicester, 5 000/1 rank outsiders for the English title before the start of the season, to victory over relegation-threatened Sunderland.

And in Sunday’s late kick-off match, United’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League suffered a setback when they conceded three goals in six second-half minutes as second-placed Spurs maintained their title bid.

United’s defeat left them 19 points adrift of Leicester, with only a maximum of 18 available from their final six league games of the season. — AFP.