As the team who were the fall guys on the day that Leicester City lifted the title, trips to the King Power Stadium have taught Everton that the Premier League is at times still capable of producing unpredictable outcomes but such upsets work both ways and the Blues most endeavour to ensure this latest visit is not their last. Since returning to the top flight in 2014 after a decade long absence, the clever Foxes have shown Everton how it’s done when it comes to launching a sustainable challenge to the division’s established powers.
This correspondent has recalled many times that while I was fortunate enough to witness a significant moment in sporting history at the King Power Stadium on the day that Claudio Ranieri invited his compatriot Andrea Bocelli to sing Nessun Dorma before kick-off as his team prepared to lift their glittering prize, covering the game for the ECHO provided a sobering realisation of how far off the pace Everton were, and now six years later they’re much further still. Leicester City’s champions triumphed 3-1 that day but in truth the scoreline did not reflect their dominance on a day they could have won by a much greater margin.
Jamie Vardy missed a penalty but along with his team-mates was still having a party while Kevin Mirallas’ consolation strike did not arrive until two minutes before full-time. Roberto Martinez’s hapless side resembled the opposition stooges basketball exhibition side the Harlem Globetrotters used to run rings around and it was no surprise that the Catalan’s Blues reign lasted less than a week longer as he was sacked after their following game, a 3-0 reversal at Sunderland that secured Premier League survival for Sam Allardyce’s Black Cats.
