Leicester
City took advantage of a draw between challengers Tottenham and
Arsenal on Saturday to open up a five-point lead at the top of the
Premier League as one of sport's most unlikely stories moved another
step closer to reality.
Leicester's
1-0 win at Watford, sealed with a Riyad Mahrez goal, put them five
points clear of Tottenham and eight ahead of third-placed Arsenal
after the two north London sides drew 2-2 at White Hart Lane.
Mahrez
was the hero for Leicester, his sublime left-foot strike, 11 minutes
into the second half, sealing all three points for Claudio Ranieri's
side.
With
nine games to go, the impossible is looking more and more possible
for an unheralded team almost relegated last term but goalkeeper
Kasper Schmeichel said nothing is done yet.
"I
know people probably think I am lying but it is true, it's one game
at a time," he said.
"That's
what's got us where we are and if we start getting ahead of ourselves
now then we risk blowing it.
"We've
put ourselves in a good position but there's a long way to go yet."
Earlier,
Tottenham held top spot for about 13 minutes after they turned round
a 1-0 deficit to lead Arsenal 2-1 at home.
Aaron
Ramsey put Arsenal in front shortly before half-time but after team
mate Francis Coquelin was sent off nine minutes into the second half,
Toby Alderweireld equalised and then Harry Kane put Spurs in front
with a stunning strike.
But
Alexis Sanchez hit back for the 10 men of Arsenal to grab a point
that saw both sides lose ground.
"It's
true that at 2-1 for us, 11 against 10, I have to be disappointed at
the final whistle," Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said.
"But
I think we need to be pleased and happy because we kept the
three-point (gap over Arsenal) and I think we played better than
them.
"I
think we are in a good position, we have many games and we need to be
focused now."
Arsenal
manager Arsene Wenger praised his side's character, which had been
questioned in many quarters after three straight defeats, but rued
the sending-off of Coquelin, for two yellow cards.
"We
have big regrets because it looked like we were completely in
control, when we went down to 10 men. That's the regret of the day,
it's difficult to take," Wenger said.
"I
am proud of the spirit the players have shown and the response even
at 2-1 down, with 10 men, away from home, we managed to come back
with at least a point.
"Everybody
drops points so let's see what happens over the weekend.
We
need to take encouragement."
Manchester
City returned to winning ways with a 4-0 trouncing of bottom side
Aston Villa, who are nine points from safety.
Sergio
Aguero scored twice and missed a penalty for his hat-trick while Yaya
Toure and Raheem Sterling got the others to move City within two
points of Arsenal.
West
Ham moved above Manchester United into fifth after a stunning 3-2 win
at Everton, scoring all three of their goals in the last 12 minutes.
Everton
led through Romelu Lukaku and even though Kevin Mirallas was sent off
after 34 minutes, Aaron Lennon made it 2-0 early in the second half.
But
Michail Antonio, Diafro Sakho and finally Dmitri Payet grabbed the
goals to keep West Ham just a point behind Man City.
Sunderland
are one point clear of the drop zone after a 1-1 draw at 10-man
Southampton, who snatched a late equaliser.
Newcastle
are still second-bottom after a 3-1 defeat at home by Bournemouth
while Norwich remain third-bottom after losing 1-0 at Swansea.
Champions
Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw by Stoke in the day's other match.
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