MARTIN KEOWN: Leicester deserve credit for forcing top-four showdown

MARTIN KEOWN: Leicester may come agonisingly close to a top-four spot again but they deserve credit for forcing final day showdown… the ‘little’ underdogs must be proud for taking the race to the wire once more

  • Leicester sit fifth in the Premier League with just one match left this weekend
  • Whatever happens, it has still been a fine season for Brendan Rodgers and Co 
  • They have already achieved something great after their FA Cup final triumph 
  • Even if they miss out on the top-four, Leicester should still hold their heads high 

Last season, Leicester City spent 325 of 353 possible days inside the Premier League’s top four, only to finish fifth.

This season, they have spent 242 of 253 days in those Champions League places, and now they find themselves in fifth again heading into Sunday’s home game with Tottenham.

Depending on this final round of fixtures, Leicester might miss out on making it into the Champions League all over again.

Leicester and Brendan Rodgers will fight all the way until the end of the season for the top-four

Yet even if that happens, it still deserves to go down as a successful season for manager Brendan Rodgers and the club. They will be disappointed, but they should still be proud.

Winning the FA Cup last Saturday at Wembley against Chelsea will forever link this group of players. They have made memories together that will never leave them.

When I was a player I’d take a trophy like the FA Cup all day long – as long as we were competing in and around the top four.

Even if Leicester miss out, it is still a successful season for them after this month’s FA Cup glory

That outstanding late save by Kasper Schmeichel to deny Mason Mount in last week’s final will go down as a defining moment – as important as the goal by Youri Tielemans. 

This was a great day for Leicester and their owners. They have already achieved something great as they head into this final fixture against Spurs, still in with a chance of securing Champions League football if results go their way.

The last time a club not considered one of the Big Six finished inside the Premier League’s top four was in 2016, when Leicester won the title.

It isn’t easy to achieve. Clubs like Leicester aren’t expected to be competing like this. And yet here they are, forcing Chelsea and Liverpool into a final-day showdown.

Winning the FA Cup at Wembley against Chelsea will forever link Leicester’s group of players

Those two traditional ‘big’ clubs know they need to win on Sunday to secure top-four finishes and that’s because of Leicester.

Rodgers described the Foxes as the ‘people’s club’ ahead of their FA Cup final. He said every supporter can live in hope that their own club could ‘do a Leicester’.

That’s exactly what they represent. I’m not sure you will find many neutrals who wanted VAR to let Chelsea’s late equaliser at Wembley Stadium stand.

Now Leicester have won the FA Cup for the first time in their 137-year history. They have got a shiny new trophy to place next to their Premier League one and now they face Tottenham on Sunday as firm favourites to end the season with a win.

Leicester go into their final day showdown with Tottenham as favourites and will need a victory

I’d classify this as a category A game, with the Champions League on the line for Leicester and a slim hope of Europa League qualification for Tottenham. It is the furthest thing from a final-day dead rubber.

Chelsea travel to face an Aston Villa side who have England pair Tyrone Mings and Jack Grealish back. Liverpool host Crystal Palace with Roy Hodgson looking to end his time in charge of the Eagles on a high against one of his former clubs.

Every team’s tactics will be geared up to win. Fans will be back at the King Power Stadium and if a goal is conceded by Chelsea or Liverpool, they will be wired in and ready to let the team know.

But Leicester’s players shouldn’t let pressure overwhelm them. Of course it would be gutting for them to not see it over the line, after spending so long inside the top four. It was gutting last season when they missed out. 

Rodgers and his squad deserve credit for their progress and should still hold their heads high

But Leicester deserve applauding for what they’re doing. They are the underdogs.

Chelsea are in this year’s Champions League final. Liverpool won that competition two years ago, beating Tottenham.

These are teams who have taken Europe by storm in recent seasons.

But ‘little’ Leicester have taken this race to the wire and who knows? They might yet finish fourth. Even if they don’t, they can still hold their heads up high. 




Share this article

Source: Read Full Article