What happened to Chelsea and Leicester City?
LAST season the English Premier League (EPL) went haywire. Leicester City—a team of journeymen and no-hopers that had barely escaped relegation in 2015—overturned odds of 5,000-to-one to win the competition, in arguably the greatest sporting Cinderella story ever. At the same time Chelsea, who had ambled to the title in May 2015, plummeted to just above the drop zone at Christmas, and limped to tenth by the end of the season. Jose Mourinho, the Londoners’ high-achieving and abrasive coach, lost his job on December 17th after a defeat to Leicester—who were managed by Claudio Ranieri (pictured), the man that Chelsea fired to make way for Mr Mourinho when he first arrived in England in 2004. Even Mr Ranieri, a humble and jolly man, must have enjoyed the revenge.
The strangely symmetrical fates of these two clubs have reversed again this season, as if the last was merely a dream. Chelsea find themselves seven points clear at the top with eight games to go. Leicester sacked Mr Ranieri on February 23rd with just one...Continue reading