A Top Flight Throwback Thursday: Leicester’s Fairytale Title Win

In December 2015, former Leicester star-turned-pundit Gary Lineker made a bet on Twitter that if Leicester won the league, he would present Match of the Day in his underpants.

The year ended with the Foxes on top of the table. 2014 had ended with them at the bottom. Still, no one believed. Everyone was waiting for the penny to drop, for Vardy to go cold, for Mahrez to get tackled, for Kante to get tired. Everyone was waiting for Huth and Morgan to mess up at the back, for Schmeichel to start leaking goals, and Leicester to remember that they were, well, Leicester.

When they crashed out of the FA Cup at the hands of Spurs, some thought it would signal the start of their downfall. All it did was clear up the schedule, and make the path to the title that much more clear.

Then in February, they beat Manchester City, 3-1. Beat does not do it justice, they outplayed one of the richest teams in the world. Mahrez in particular was sublime against his then, future club. Leicester’s fans now fully believed in their title challenge. Outside of the King Power Stadium, some began to whisper. Maybe, just maybe, they could do it. But that would be crazy.

At every turn, people thought they would falter. They lost to Arsenal right after the City game, but then did not lose for the rest of the season. Against West Ham, Vardy was sent off, yet they came back to rescue a draw with a last-minute penalty. Without their leading scorer, they beat Swansea, and then drew with Man United.