Champagne stays on ice for Leicester City after Man Utd draw

Man Utd 1 Leicester City 1

The Champagne remains on ice for Leicester City who must wait to be crowned champions after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Manchester United at Old Trafford, a result that seriously dents United's hopes of a top four finish.

A single point may not have been what the Foxes fans wanted but it does have implications for the title race. With Leicester now eight points clear, Spurs must win all three of their final games to overhaul them, and Claudio Ranieri's men will be confirmed as champions on Monday if Tottenham fail to beat Chelsea.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Knowing that a win would win them the Premier League, Leicester looked nervous at the start and fell behind after only eight minutes when Anthony Martial fired home from Antonio Valencia's cross. But nine minutes later the Foxes equalised as skipper Wes Morgan headed home.

His goal "summed up so much of what he and his club have been about this season as he showed great strength and poise to lose his marker Marcos Rojo", says the Daily Telegraph.

Keeper Kasper Schmiechel was also instrumental, making a fine save to deny Jesse Lingard soon after United took the lead, and twice racing from his box to clear the danger with the home side through on goal, the second occasion was in added time when Robert Huth gifted the ball to Memphis Depay.

Leicester can wrap the title up at home against Everton next week, but they will be without Danny Drinkwater, who was sent off in the closing stages after being harshly adjudged to have fouled Depay.

United meanwhile, now lie four points behind Man City in fourth, and must hope their neighbours drop points in their final two games of the season, if they are to qualify for next season's Champions League.

But while the home side were left frustrated the travelling Leicester fans were anything but downhearted by their team's performance, even if they must wait for confirmation of the greatest shock in Premier League history.

"Leicester City have come so far on this journey they probably should not mind too much if the coronation has to be put off a little," says Daniel Taylor of The Guardian. And the goodwill their title surge has generated was illustrated by the "remarkable ovation" they were given at the final whistle by both sets of fans.

They may not have their hands on the trophy just yet but "thousands of visiting fans stayed behind well after the final whistle at Old Trafford in a demonstration of sheer elation as this dream journey towards a first top-flight crown reaches its conclusion", says Phil McNulty of the BBC.