At the start of the English football season last August, bookmakers in Britain were offering odds of 5,000-1 against LeicesterCity winning the Premier League. 5,000-1? Now, let's put that into perspective.
Claudio Ranieri's Tinkerman days may be over after he again named an unchanged team but his cautious talk remained, refusing to contemplate the title after Leicester City beat Newcastle United on Monday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
If Claudio Ranieri was hoping there might be a player lurking in his reserves to salvage Leicester City's unravelling season he was left disappointed on Saturday as his side were beaten 1-0 by third-tier Millwall in the FA Cup fifth round.
England under-21 coach Gareth Southgate looks likely to be put in temporary charge of the national team after the resignation of Roy Hodgson following the side's Euro 2016 exit, British media reported on Wednesday.
Premier League clubs enjoyed record revenues of 3.3 billion pounds ($4.76 billion) in 2014-15 thanks to broadcast deals that will be even more lucrative next season, according to Deloitte.
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri will not be able to watch the game which could deliver his side their first-ever Premier League title because he wants to have lunch with his 96-year-old mother on her birthday. The Foxes will be crowned champions if Tottenham Hotspur, who trail them by eight points, fail to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, a ground where they have not won since 1990, on Monday. But, speaking after Leicester missed out on the victory against Manchester United that would have sealed the title on Sunday, Ranieri said he will be flying back from Italy when the game kicks off. "I'd like to watch the match tomorrow, but I think I'm on a flight back from Italy so it's difficult for me to watch the match," Ranieri said after the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford. "My mother is 96 years old and I would like to have a lunch with her. I will be the last man in England to know," Ranieri added. "Three matches ago I said, in my mind Tottenham will win all the matches. Look, for us it's important to continue to dream." Ranieri thought the draw with United was a fair result. "United started very very well, moved the ball very well, and it was very difficult for us to restart and make something good," he said.
The Italian federation (FIGC) is determined to complete the season and its president Gabriele Gravina has been presenting new ideas on an almost daily basis of how that can be done. Meanwhile, Turkmenistan in Central Asia is set to resume its soccer season with spectators at the weekend, making it only the second country in the world to let fans attend matches as the new coronavirus shuts down almost all of world football.
While their nearest chasers lost, Olympique Lyonnais succumbing 2-1 at home to struggling Lille and Monaco falling 1-0 at Nantes after a last-gasp Lucas Lima thunderbolt, PSG marched on without ever hitting top gear.
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri ruled himself out of the running for the job of Italy head coach on Thursday and said he hoped to stay at the Premier League leaders for years to come.
Alex Ferguson famously described the Premier League title run-in as 'squeaky-bum time' and leaders Leicester City and second-placed Tottenham Hotspur look best-placed to handle the pressure.
The following are talking points from the weekend's Premier League action:
Just like his father nearly two decades ago, Kasper Schmeichel proved a formidable last line of defence.
'Keep Calm And Carry On' could be Claudio Ranieri's motto for the second half of the season after Leicester City earned a 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday to put the heat back on Premier League leaders Arsenal.
IMAGES from the EPL matches played on Tuesday
Chelsea's terrible start to the season plumbed new depths on Saturday when the Premier League champions lost 2-1 at West Ham United.
Surprise Euro 2016 quarter-finalists Iceland want a fairytale ending to their run, like the one that Leicester City enjoyed when they stunned the soccer world by clinching the Premier League title this season, team coaches said on Wednesday. Leicester, with no big names in the squad, finished ahead of far more illustrious English clubs in what was one of the biggest upsets in club football.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continued his dream start as Manchester United caretaker manager with a 3-1 Premier League win over Huddersfield on his Old Trafford debut in the dugout on Wednesday.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino was angry after his side surrendered the lead for the second straight week in a 1-1 Premier League draw at in-form Leicester City on Saturday.
Arsene Wenger dismissed protests against him as more 'disappointed love' than 'real aggression' after disenchanted supporters held up banners calling for his resignation in the 1-0 victory over Norwich in the Premier League on Saturday.
Before Leicester enchanted the sporting world last year with their miraculous Premier League title win, Atletico had worked similar wonders in 2014 by breaking the strangehold of Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga.
Leicester City's Premier League title defence got off to a terrible start as they were beaten 2-1 at promoted Hull City, who shrugged off an injury crisis to shock the champions on the opening day of the new season on Saturday
There was controversy about West Ham's equaliser when Mexican striker Javier Hernandez stooped to head in from close range but replays suggested the ball went in off his arm.
France international striker Antoine Griezmann has reached an agreement with Manchester United over a transfer from Atletico Madrid at the end of the season, Yahoo Sport has reported.
'I'm very happy and I can say that 2016 was the best year of my career, the trophy shows that people aren't blind and watch the games.'
Irresistible Chelsea go into the Christmas round of fixtures knowing they can end the year by re-writing the record books.
A Roberto Firmino hat-trick proved the highlight of Liverpool's 5-1 demolition of Arsenal as the Premier League leaders opened a nine-point gap over Tottenham Hotspur, who lost 3-1 to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Tottenham Hotspur climbed to third with a 3-1 win over Southampton while Chelsea hung on to fourth spot, above Arsenal on goal difference, despite a 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday
Here is a round-up of results from the European League matches played on Wednesday
England striker Jamie Vardy says Leicester City have no intention of treating the Champions League as some sort of belated Premier League victory parade, and are ready to add another chapter to last season's stunning success story.
Napoli brush aside lowly Crotone to go third in Serie A.
Jamie Vardy's rise from the wilderness of non-League football to playing for England, scoring in 10 consecutive Premier League matches and leading Leicester City to the top of the table reads like a story from an outdated comic book.
Poland midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak has signed a five-year contract with Paris St Germain, the French champions said in a statement on Sunday.
England's League Managers' Association has revealed that the average tenure of a Premier League manager is now little more than two seasons, with 11 of last year's 20 starters already kicked out.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
Manchester United's struggle to achieve a top-four finish continued on Tuesday as Zlatan Ibrahimovic came to their rescue with an added time penalty to salvage a 1-1 draw against Everton in their Premier League clash at Old Trafford.
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