Leicester City and Spurs Race to the Line While Ranieri Gets Emotional

Race to the Line...

Will Leicester Be Hauled Back?

  Published by Geeza Graham - 15 April 2016

The three Premier League matches played last Sunday 10 April 2016 have left the title-race in a most intriguing position. In theory, there were four possible outcomes from the matches played by Leicester and by Spurs, but what actually happened is the most interesting of the four possibilities.

First, both teams might have dropped points. Had that been the result then nothing would have changed except that there would now be one game less for each team to play. We would then just simply have to wait to see what happens next.

A second possible scenario is one where Leicester wins while Spurs drops points. Such results would almost certainly have meant that Leicester would inevitably be crowned champions. So while Leicester supporters would obviously be ecstatic, there would not be much left for us to speculate about.

A third scenario is where Leicester would have dropped points while Spurs wins. That would have been a more interesting result than the two previously mentioned, but it would not necessarily have taken on huge significance. Before last Sunday Leicester had won their previous four games, and we don't necessarily expect them to finish the season with ten wins in a row. In other words, it should not be a huge surprise if Leicester were to lose or draw a game or two before the season ends. Therefore dropping points on Sunday could have been seen as nothing much more than the expected blip. Of course, we might then wonder how they would respond to that little hiccup, but throughout the season so far they have always bounced back and so, at this point, there would be no huge alarm bells ringing loud and clear.

But we can put aside the other three theoretical possibilities because what actually happened is that both teams won. This has now created a very tense situation indeed. It is as if the two teams are staring each other out and the question now is who is going to blink first. And while the results have created this sense of a showdown, there are other aspects of Sunday's results that add immensely to the intrigue.

On Sunday Spurs overcame the legendary 'we are bigger than you' Manchester United, and they did so in stylish and very dramatic fashion. As Pochettino later indicated, the result effectively throws down the guantlet to Leicester. Essentially, Spurs' message was "We are pumped up and breathing down your neck! If you slip up we won't".

To add to this, the result of the third match played on Sunday has presented further pressure for Leicester. Stoke, who will be Tottenham's very next opponents, were trounced 4-1 by Liverpool. That result together with Spurs' demolition of United, suggest that the result of Tottenham's next match is a foregone conclusion. Leicester must surely feel that their match this coming Sunday is one that they just cannot afford to lose. And who will be their opponent? They will face West Ham who drew against third place Arsenal at the weekend and who are the last team to have beaten Spurs. So while Tottenham's win seems to be the assured, the same cannot be said about Leicester.

And there is one other very intersting fact about last Sunday's results.

All throughout this season Ranieri has maintained that his team are playing without pressure, and that seems to have been the case. However, last Sunday's win againgst Sunderland clearly affect Ranieri himself. So while he has been trying to keep his players from thinking about how close they are to the title, he is now feeling the strain and excitement in a way that he was unable to control. How will this now affect his team? Will they become even more focused on winning for the sake of their manager, or will the pressure of being on the verge of accomplishing the impossible suddenly be transmitted from manager to players with the result that they become emotional and break down as Ranieri apparently did?

If Leicester should drop points then they might now start to panic and that would boost Spurs even more, while a Leicester win will probably cause Tottenham to accept deep-down that the title is really out of their reach. In short, Leicester's game on Sunday will probably decide the title.