A decade on: Leicester City’s 5000-1 miracle revisited, from relegation fears to Premier League immortality | OneFootball

Leicester City's incredible Premier League title success in 2015/16 remains one of the most unbelievable sporting tales.

The Foxes overcame pre-season odds of 5000-1 to win thePremier League, a stunning shock that will never be forgotten.

Today marks a decade since Leicester were confirmed as champions, as title rivals Tottenham Hotspur dropped points at Chelsea, in a tempestuous fixture remembered as 'The Battle of the Bridge'.

Leicester had started the Premier League season among the relegation favourites, having narrowly escaped the drop the previous season. Bottom at Christmas, a remarkable run of seven wins from their final nine games kept the club in the division.

In an unexpected change, Claudio Ranieri arrived as manager that summer, replacing Nigel Pearson. The Italian veteran could hardly have predicted what was to come.

Leicester opened the season with successive wins, a strong start towards the 40-point target set by chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. The goal was simple: Keep the club in the division again.

But Leicester's band of brothers had other ideas. The Foxes lost just one of their first 15 fixtures and, by early December, topped the table. An unforeseen ascent, but Premier League history had been littered with fast-starters who fell away. Most expected Leicester to be another.

The turning point at which increasing confidence became genuine belief arrived in February. Jamie Vardy's brilliant brace dispatched Liverpool at the King Power Stadium, before a statement result at the Etihad sent shockwaves through English football.

Robert Huth's double and a brilliant goal from Riyad Mahrez saw leadersLeicester stun nearest rivals Manchester City on their home patch.

"We play without pressure because we don't have to win the league. We must enjoy. This league is so strange and now it is important to think about Arsenal," Ranieri reflected.

"I want to wait until the end of April because I know the last matches are very tough. This is a fantastic moment for the Premier League, nobody knows who can win it."

A last-gasp loss at Arsenal brought Leicester back down to earth in their following fixture, but it would be the club's final defeat of the campaign.

Vardy's scampering style undid defences, while Mahrez floated freely to wreak havoc. Further back, N'Golo Kante covered every blade of grass, and Huth and Wes Morgan marshalled the backline. This was a team far greater than the sum of its individual parts.

A 12-game unbeaten run-in crowned Leicester champions, with a slip from Spurs coronating the unlikeliest of title winners. The North Londoners blew a two-goal lead at Stamford Bridge, in a fiery fixture marked by tasty tackles and a dozen bookings between the teams.

Leicester's title-winning team had gathered together to watch events unfold before the celebrations kicked off in style. Jamie Vardy was having a party.

Things have never been so good for Leicester City. A Champions League campaign and FA Cup win followed their title triumph, before a period of decline that reached a new nadir this season, with relegation to the third tier.

Leicester, historically, have spent the bulk of their existence in the second division, a statistic that makes their fleeting time as England's best even more astounding.

This was not some bank-rolled upstart with billionaire backing, but a team that instead upset the established elite through togetherness. It's a feat we're unlikely to see repeated.