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MOTD: Leicester City 4-0 Swansea City

By on April 24, 2016

For the longest of times, Claudio Ranieri would not look beyond attaining forty points no matter how many giants Leicester City played, or how many goals Jamie Vardy scored or how many plaudits his team received. Then Leicester set their sights on Champions League qualification and only then, once the Foxes finally clinched their first ever European berth just two weeks ago, would they turn their focus towards the Premier League title.

They’ve rolled up their sleeves for a battle down to the wire and have won six of their last seven matches. Although second-placed Tottenham Hotspur have thus far been able to match Leicester’s fervor, Leicester’s fantastic four-goal rout of Swansea City took them tantalizingly close to the title with an eight point lead and three games to go.

Spurs could cut that lead in half against West Bromwich Albion tomorrow afternoon but after Leicester drew West Ham United last weekend, this felt like the beginning of one final push for Ranieri’s men. The chant “Barcelona, we’re coming for you,” rang throughout the King Power Stadium and the home side had a reinvigorated sense of belief and spirit.

In the absence of main-man Jamie Vardy, substitute Leonardo Ulloa, penalty hero last weekend, stepped up to score a brace and Riyad Mahrez and Marc Albrighton added two more goals on the either side of Ulloa’s. The Argentine forward’s finishing aptly made up for Vardy’s absence and Jefferey Schlupp, who started ahead of Marc Albrighton on the wing, injected a vital boost in the pace department.

It was a tentative start from the home side, but Swansea went belly-up just nine minutes in when Ashley William’s attempted clearance was blocked by Mahrez. The Algerian midfielder burst into the box, cut back into the middle and cooly beat Lukasz Fabianski at his near post with a low shot; all in the space of just five seconds.

Ulloa doubled Leicester’s lead on the half hour mark, rising above his marker to flick a near-post header from Danny Drinkwater’s set piece into the back of the net.

Once it was clear that Swansea were submissive opponents, Leicester were brimming with confidence and Schlupp was a constant threat down the left with his penetrative runs. The winger skipped past Àngel Rangel and Federico Fernández in the sixtieth minute and although Williams got across to make a vital block as Schlupp attempted to square the ball, the ball fell right into the winger’s path again. He poked the ball across the goal and Ulloa was there to convert at full stretch.

Although the home side already had a three goal lead, Leicester’s substitutes Demarai Gray, Marc Albrighton and Andy King all strived to make a difference. The three subs combined for Leicester fourth goal with five minutes to go, as Gray accelerated past his man down the right and curled a lovely ball for King at the far post. The English forward headed the ball back across goal and and Gray volleyed a low effort straight at Fabianski, who made a smart block. Albrighton pounced on the rebound, though, and emphatically capped off Leicester City’s rout.

If there’s one image to encapsulate the fighting spirit that has defined Leicester’s season, it was the entire team beelining towards the corner flag to celebrate with Albrighton, who hadn’t scored since the opening day of the season. “We play with our heart, and it’s difficult to beat those who play with heart and soul,” said Ranieri, per The Guardian.

Homepage photo credit: Ronnie Macdonald, via Flickr

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.