In one of the most unbelievable stories in modern football history, Leicester City claimed the 2016 Premier League title on a particularly hostile night at Stamford Bridge.
The Foxes unlikely success, sealed thanks to Spurs failure to hold onto a 2-0 lead at Chelsea, shook the Premier League elite to their core and also managed to rile up a number of Europe's biggest clubs - the ripples of which ultimately led to the failed European Super League coup five years later.
Under the stewardship of Claudio Ranieri, Leicester claimed their first-ever top-flight title against odds of 5000-1. The likes of Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy and N’Golo Kante were all pivotal to the club’s scarcely believable success with as the squad wrote itself into club folklore.
One other star to whom Foxes fans and players alike gave thanks was Chelsea's Eden Hazard. The Belgian wideman, like a number of his Blues teammates, was enduring a poor season at Stamford Bridge in 2015-16 - the season in which Jose Mourinho was sacked for a second time - scoring only two Premier League goals all season - those coming in the 4-1 victory over Bournemouth.
Heading into the key showdown with Mauricio Pochettino’s men though, the Belgian honestly declared that the Blues wanted Leicester to secure the Premier League title instead of their London rivals. "We don't want Tottenham to win the Premier League, the fans, the club and the players.
"In football you never know, we hope for Leicester because they deserve to be champions but we will see. We have a big game next week against Tottenham and if we can beat them it will be good."
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Duly, Hazard would ensure that would be the case.
Following first-half strikes from Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min, it looked as though Spurs were set to secure their first victory in west London in 26 years. But on an ill-tempered evening at Stamford Bridge, Hazard's second half interventions led to delight for Chelsea fans, and delirium for those Leicester stars watching on at Jamie Vardy's house.
Chelsea defender Gary Cahill gave the hosts a foothold back in the match as the ex-England defender reduced the deficit, before Hazard exchanged passes with Spanish forward Diego Costa and then curled a sumptuous effort into the top corner of Hugo Lloris’ net. The goals were spectacular but the match was tempered by poor behaviour and some downright violent challenges; Mousa Dembele was accused of an eye-gouge, whilst nine of the Spurs side were issued with yellow cards - the most issued to one side in a match in Premier League history.
The celebrations - and pitchside tussles - were raucous at Stamford Bridge but they were nothing compared to the scenes in one corner of the east Midlands as Leicester supporters toasted their scarcely believable title.
But Leicester's triumph stirred trouble in boardrooms across Europe, with high-ranking officials at certain supposed powerhouses, not enamoured with their underdog success. Little Leicester in the Champions League... it's not what the likes of Andrea Agnelli and Florentino Perez are all about.
Indeed, when it was announced in 2021 that 12 of the leading clubs in European football had come together to formulate a new continental competition, you could point back to Leicester's triumph as the starting block from which they built. In the era of the 'superclubs', where some execs view on-field results and the sport itself as secondary to the offering of content to worldwide consumers and making money above all else, there are those who believe achievements such as the Foxes’ title triumph should be consigned to the history books.
Thus when Real Madrid president Perez declared - “We will help football at every level and take it to its rightful place in the world. Football is the only global sport in the world with more than four billion fans and our responsibility as big clubs is to respond to their desires" - you can take it with a pinch of salt. The ESL was never about fans, but about greed and not wanting to share the wealth with the upstarts who dare to take on the established order.
Certainly, the plan did certainly not last very long at all, with the six Premier League clubs pulling out within 48 hours of the ESL announcement. It was a turnaround that was almost as dramatic as the Foxes’ title win.
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus still remain involved in the plot to establish another competition - an arrangement that would be unlikely to feature clubs such as Leicester City - or any other unlikely title winners for that matter.
The Foxes title success then is surely a warning to all governing bodies that a plot such as the European Super League has to remain as such and never be allowed to become something more - without it, the possibility of the scenes on that infamous night at Stamford Bridge may well be consigned to history.
