Leicester City were flying high in their campaign to return to the Premier League earlier this season but after a severe loss of form of late, they are back in the vault over the finish line.
Beat Southampton 5-0 on Tuesday. It made it back-to-back wins for a side that had been stumbling towards automatic promotion.
By mid-February, securing the title and a return to the top flight looked inevitable – Leicester were 12 points clear at the summit and had a 14-point cushion in third place.
The Foxes, some said, were aboard the ‘Marisclator’ – an upwardly mobile, smooth-passing, possession-hungry machine run by their Italian boss Enzo Marisca, who was only taking Leicester one way. : Straight up.
But then they caught up.
Four defeats and just one win in six matches – including a dramatic defeat by Leeds, who were 17 points behind Leicester at the start of January – have turned it into a four-way battle for a top-two finish – with the Whites, Ipswich and Southampton the others. There are claimants.
For all but two of the 176 days between September 23 and March 17, Leicester were on top.
They were replaced by Leeds before Ipswich shot ahead of them both, forcing Leicester out of the automatic promotion places by the end of March.
But just as Leicester struggled, those around them also dropped crucial points, allowing the Foxes to regroup and seal their top-flight return.
What awaits him in the Premier League, however, is uncertain.
The club will face an independent commission after being charged by the Premier League for alleged breaches of Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) in their last three years in the top flight.
Tonight, a triumphant return is being celebrated but, if found guilty of financial breaches, they could start next season with a points penalty.
Credit : www.bbc.com