Pressure in now on our rivals: Leicester manager Ranieri

Sunderland, in 19th place, scored twice in the final eight minutes to draw 2-2 at Liverpool while Everton struck three times in the first half on the way to a comfortable 3-0 win at Stoke City.

One fan stuck £40 on Ranieri’s side at 5000/1 at the start of the season and could win £200,000 if they do the business.

Algerian winger Mahrez admitted that he and his team-mates were “dreaming” of finishing the season as champions, saying: “We will fight for the title and see what we can do”.

Unlike their opponents, involved in domestic cup competitions, European football and, in Tottenham’s case, the Thursday-Sunday grind of the Europa League, Leicester have just 13 fixtures left.

William Hill revealed that another punter placed £75 each way on Leicester at 1500/1 and will collect £140,775 if the Foxes clinch the title. Leicester still have a lot of games so we can’t speak now about the title. “There’s joy at the win, but disappointment too that we have conceded – even if it was offside”, he said.

Would you cash out? “We beat a good side, it was three hard points but three very important points”.

Leicester City capped a memorable day on Saturday (Feb 6) by announcing that star striker Jamie Vardy has extended his contract by one year until June 2019.

“We are sitting pretty and I want to play in Europe”, he added.

“That’s important because it’s the first time in the players” lives that they are doing something special’. While he is confident the 3-1 defeat is just a blip for Manchester City with everything still to play for, he is dismayed by the news David Silva has joined a lengthy injury list and could miss another pivotal game against Tottenham Hotspur next weekend.

After all, the rest of the country has surely by now suspended disbelief and accepted Leicester, football’s ultimate “little engine that could” storyline, as genuine contenders. “The title is a possibility in the long run, but we are not thinking about that at all”.

Celebrity fan and club shareholder Morgan believes that only Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez would be guaranteed a place in Leicester’s first-team.

“If Claudio Ranieri’s team did the unthinkable it would be a awful result for us, as we now stand to lose over £5m if Leicester win the league”. “He has had an unbelievable journey to get to this point in his career and continues to play every game as if it’s his last”.

“It is important for us to recover our players and I am continuing not giving up because we got an unexpected defeat, but we must continue”.