Abnormal to astonishing: In Everton win, Leicester City still resolutely rejecting realism

Richard Jolly writes Leicester City, with another three points, show they aren't going away – on the contrary, 'with each win, it is likelier they will be crowned champions'.

Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez celebrates scoring against Everton in his team's Premier League victory on Saturday. Peter Byrne / PA / AP / December 19, 2015

This has gone from the abnormal to the absolutely astonishing.

Premier League history, wage bill, transfer expenditure and the identity of their players: everything conditions outsiders to expect Leicester City to drop away. Rather, they resolutely reject realism. Instead of early-season overachievers beginning a descent into mid-table, a sixth win in seven games gave them a five-point advantage. They defy predictions and defeat opponents with equal acuity.

See more: Riyad Mahrez and Leicester down Everton to keep up Premier League lead pace – in pictures

“Football is crazy,” said Claudio Ranieri, the architect of an improbable rise. “If it is crazy in this way, I am very happy.”

His team retain an irresistible momentum, the Premier League lead and the division’s only unbeaten away record. Everton may have presented one of Leicester’s stiffest tests but, like others, it was passed, and in emphatic fashion.

They have 38 points now. Tipped for relegation, they have booked another season in the top flight. Their fans veered between chorusing about staying up and embarking on a European tour. Such is life as a Leicester supporter. They have played havoc with the emotions and the expectations in an extraordinary 2015.

A year ago, they propped up the Premier League. Now they top it.

They have arguably its two most influential players, too.

More Premier League

“They have the best goalscoring threat,” said Everton manager Roberto Martinez. So Leicester proved. Riyad Mahrez’s double took his tally to 13 league goals this season. Jamie Vardy endured that rarest of things – a game without a goal – but his incessant harrying meant he played a part in all three.

Leicester’s dominant duo have an extraordinary record. Either Vardy, Mahrez or both have scored in every league game this season. That sequence was extended, aided by Everton’s undistinguished defending. “The disappointment is to concede such soft goals, two from throw-ins,” said Martinez. Two were penalties.

For the first, Ramiro Funes Mori dragged Mahrez down after he skipped past him. For the second, Vardy breached the offside trap to meet Mahrez’s pass. He was upended by Tim Howard. Mahrez converted both with similar nonchalance.

Referee Jonathan Moss played a part in Leicester’s third, set up by Vardy and scored by Shinji Okazaki, but only after a Marc Albrighton handball went unspotted. “It is not a time to blame the unfortunate action of the referee,” said Martinez.

His side’s eight-match unbeaten run was ended. Leicester’s triumph was all the more admirable as they had lost two of the spine of their side, the suspended centre-back Robert Huth and the injured midfielder Danny Drinkwater.

“The defensive performance was very good,” said Ranieri, although their inability to keep a clean sheet means he will not reward his charges with pizza.

Substitute Kevin Mirallas swivelled to score an 89th-minute goal. Another Belgian had managed a more statistically significant strike. Vardy’s recently-set record of striking in 11 consecutive Premier League games may not last long as Romelu Lukaku’s scoring streak reached seven. He finished after Ross Barkley had been denied by first goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, and then Andy King, who made a goal-line clearance.

Yet while he chases individual achievements, Leicester move ever closer to extraordinary collective feats. With each win, it is likelier they will be crowned champions. “If we stay there [first] at the end of April I think about the title,” said Ranieri. “Now I enjoy.”

Man of the Match: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City)

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