LONDON: Leicester City’s Premier League title dream became reality on Monday when one of the greatest sporting fairytales reached its conclusion in west London where chasing Tottenham Hotspur could only manage a 2-2 draw in a pulsating game with outgoing champions Chelsea.

The result provoked an outpouring of celebration in the provincial English city and as far away as Thailand and Japan, while Leicester’s players had watched nervously on television along with Foxes fans packed into local bars 160km away.

Tottenham had to win at Chelsea to keep their bid for a first title since 1961 alive and goals from Harry Kane and Son Heung-min had looked like extending the title race to the penultimate week of what has been an unforgettable season.

But Gary Cahill gave Chelsea a lifeline before the hour in a fiery London derby where tempers frayed and tackles flew in from everywhere and Eden Hazard, whose goals helped the Blues win the title last year, curled in a superb 83rd-minute equaliser to deflate Spurs and confirm 5,000-1 underdogs Leicester as champions for the first time, completing one of the most astonishing stories in professional sport.

As tempers flared at the end of a red-hot London derby at Stamford Bridge, television pictures cut away to Leicester’s players celebrating in the living room of their striker Jamie Vardy, whose 22 goals have under-pinned his side’s challenge.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling. I’ve never known anything like it,” said Vardy, who was shown jubilantly celebrating Spurs’ result with his team-mates in a video posted on Twitter by left-back Christian Fuchs.

“We were scrapping to stay in the league last season and on Saturday we’ll be lifting the trophy. It’s the biggest achievement in the history of a great club and we all feel privileged to be part of it.”

Elsewhere in Leicester, the city’s biggest ever party began in earnest, with hundreds of fans gathering outside the stadium and thousands more celebrating in pubs and bars.

Leicester’s unlikely journey from no-hopers to English champions has captivated sports fans worldwide, nowhere more so than in Thailand, home of the club’s owners King Power.

Their previous best season in the English top flight was a second-place finish in 1929 and their last piece of silverware had been the 2000 League Cup.

Claudio Ranieri, the former Chelsea manager who has masterminded Leicester’s rise since taking over at the start of the season, was celebrating the first major league title of his long managerial career.

‘ONLY ONE RANIERI’

“I’m so proud,” the Italian, who was favourite in August to become the first manager to be sacked, said.

“I never expected this when I arrived. I’m a pragmatic man, I just wanted to win match after match and help my players to improve week after week. Never did I think too much about where it would take us.”

Defender Wes Morgan, who scored a vital equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Manchester United on Sunday, said: “Saturday can’t come quickly enough. I can’t wait to get my hands on the trophy.”

With two games left, Leicester are seven points ahead of Tottenham and Saturday’s home match against Everton will now become a glorious celebration for a club who were in the third tier of English football just seven years ago.

Mauricio Pochettino’s young Spurs team needed to win all three of their final games, starting with Monday’s match at Chelsea to stand any chance of claiming the title but fell short in agonising circumstances at Stamford Bridge where they have not won in 26 years.

“I want to congratulate Leicester and Claudio Ranieri and all the players, “said Spurs head coach Pochettino. “It’s a massive, amazing season for them.”

Ranieri was sacked by Chelsea in 2004, but chants of “There’s only one Ranieri!” rang around their ground as Monday’s final whistle approached.

Bringing the story of his association with the Premier League full circle, the 64-year-old Ranieri will return to Stamford Bridge for his miracle team’s final game of the season on May 15.

“Congratulations to Leicester because they have been superb this year, “said John Terry, the Chelsea captain. “[Ranieri] has been different class. To do what they have done has been unbelievable and given hope to the smaller sides.”

Ranieri called Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink to thank him for Chelsea’s part in delivering the title to Leicester.

“[Ranieri said] five times ‘Thanks’, because of the emotion,” Hiddink said. “I didn’t see any tears because it was not a Facetime conversation, but his voice was trembling a bit.”

FINAL ACT

Oddly, the biggest match in Leicester’s history was one they were not involved in as the final act of an absorbing title race was played out between last year’s champions and a Tottenham side who have refused to give up the chase.

But Ranieri’s intrepid team had already done the damage, churning out results to stay top of the table since Jan. 23 while their rivals fell by the wayside.

Since losing to Arsenal on Feb. 14, they won seven and drew three of their next 10 games.

Incredibly, Leicester spent half of last season bottom of the league before a late surge lifted them clear of relegation.

With Ranieri replacing Nigel Pearson as manager, they continued that momentum and from being pre-season tips for the drop, became title contenders as former non-league journeyman Vardy scored in a record 11 consecutive Premier League games.

Even when they hit the top in January, many thought Leicester would fade, as they did in 1963, the last time they were in with a chance of the title.

As the chasing pack thinned, however, Tottenham hung on to Leicester’s coat tails but substitute Hazard’s late goal sealed the destiny of the title, which left bookmakers up and down the country licking their wounds to the tune of millions of pounds.

“Nobody believed we could do it, but here we are — Premier League champions and deservedly so,” Leicester captain Morgan said. “I’ve never known a spirit like the one between these boys, we’re like brothers.

“People saw it last season when everyone expected us to be relegated, but we fought back to prove people wrong. This season’s been a continuation of that. We’ve built on the momentum, but I don’t think anyone believed it would come to this.”

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2016