Leonardo Ulloa headed in Danny
Drinkwater's free-kick before the break, then scrambled in the third goal from
a loose ball on the hour to give Leicester the advantage their superiority deserved.
Substitute Marc Albrighton added a
fourth to leave Leicester needing a maximum of five more points to win the title for the
first time in their history. They could even clinch it with victory at
Manchester United next weekend if Spurs slip at home to West Bromwich Albion on
Monday night.
The 29-year-old Argentine striker,
an £8m buy from Brighton in July 2014, ran selflessly all afternoon to compensate for
the darting, pacy threat of Vardy, and most importantly contributed two goals
that eventually made this a stroll for Leicester City .
Ulloa reacted decisively to head
Drinkwater's inviting free-kick past Lukasz Fabianski on the half-hour, then
showed determination to make sure he was first to a loose ball to bundle home
his second, as well as Leicester's third after Jeff Schlupp had broken clear.
The two-goal striker was rewarded
with a standing ovation when he was substituted late on. Vardy was not missed -
and there is no greater praise of Ulloa's performance than that.
Mauricio Pochettino's side took
full advantage with a 4-0 thrashing of Stoke City on Monday night, and that could
easily have played on Foxes tensions.
Well before
kick-off, there was a mood of expectation and optimism sweeping around this
atmospheric arena, with Leicester closing in on the greatest story in Premier League history.
Former Leicester forward Alan Birchenall, now
master of ceremonies at the stadium on match day, whipped the crowd into a
fervour with a rallying speech. The traditional pre-kick-off playing of Post
Horn Gallop was accompanied by a deafening greeting for Leicester 's players.
And once Mahrez gave Leicester the lead, there was never a single
question about the destiny of the points. This ground reverberates to noise on
most occasions - but it has surely never been more thunderous than this.
The final seconds were played out
to roars of "Barcelona , we're coming for you" - the perfect soundtrack
to this wonderful, unlikely story of success.
This win, however, means that a day
of even greater celebration for the most unlikely of Premier League triumphs
moves even closer.
Ranieri has spent the season
flouting his reputation as 'The Tinkerman' - earned during his days at Chelsea when his penchant for squad
rotation sent heads spinning.
He has relied on a bedrock of the
same 11 players - but he needed to make selection decisions against Swansea , and got them spot on.
Once Vardy was suspended, the
Italian announced within minutes that Ulloa would be his replacement. He talked
up the player's character and ability and got a two-goal performance.
He backed another winner when he
dropped Albrighton down to the bench and brought in Schlupp.
The 23-year-old Ghana international may be an erratic
figure but his direct, strong running unsettled Swansea and he set up Ulloa for his second
goal. He may be slightly unconventional but he was another to earn a standing
ovation when he was substituted.
And just to confirm Ranieri had the
magic touch, Albrighton emerged from the bench to score the fourth late on.
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