Leicester's dream march continues, but Richard Buxton says beware of the lesser-known teams
Ulloa keeps dream alive, but more of such games lie ahead
LEICESTER CITY 1
(Leonardo Ulloa 89)
NORWICH CITY 0
They may be the most unlikely of EPL champions-elect, but Leicester City continue to wear its hallmarks.
Never knowingly beaten, winning the title has become more than just a dream for Claudio Ranieri's side.
From a late, agonising loss at Arsenal to a smash-and-grab 1-0 victory over Norwich City last night, they have lived through the adages of fine margins and the notion of going right down to the wire.
The Foxes continue to produce the goods when the heat is on.
Now five points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, and nine more than Manchester City, they head into March with the league crown beckoning.
Only two of the previous 12 champions-elect have faltered from this position.
Few would bet on the unlikely lads from the east Midlands becoming the third based on form, spirit and courage.
But, even in victory yesterday, they were given a lesson in the harsh realities of life at the business end.
They do not have it their own way as they attempt to close in on a historic title.
Before Leonardo Ulloa's last-gasp winner, they were beginning to find out how these kinds of games can puncture the dream.
They've been there before.
Game plans favoured by those facing a fight for survival are hardly alien concepts for the Foxes, as they continue to seek further daylight between themselves and the chasing pack.
Defending for their lives and sneaking victories was the blueprint which secured their top-flight survival barely nine months ago.
Yet, somehow, memories of the old habits have been suppressed in the rags-to-riches script swirling around the King Power Stadium.
Slipping to a last-minute defeat by Arsenal a fortnight ago was the least of their problems. What lies ahead between now and the end of April is where the title will be won or lost.
Here is where the hard work begins for Leicester's battle for domestic supremacy.
MORE AHEAD
A relegation-threatened Norwich merely offered them an introduction of what threatens to be the unravelling of this season's fairy-tale story.
For all the brilliance they possess in Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, who have scored more EPL goals between them than Alex Neil's entire Norwich squad combined, the industry of Danny Drinkwater and N'golo Kante's dynamism, Leicester were guilty of lacking cohesion for much of the game yesterday.
They failed to muster a shot on target until the 57th minute. They were not just knocking on the visitors' door; they were trying to huff and puff them into submission.
The Canaries and the impenetrable John Ruddy refused to be blown down until Ulloa's late winner.
The teams that lie ahead between now and the end of April will take heart from Norwich's robust approach and doubtless will seek to use it to their benefit against the Foxes.
Hosting five of those eight fixtures at the vociferous King Power Stadium should provide a sizeable home advantage in that run-in.
But, as Leicester are already aware, they are now seen as the EPL side that everyone wants to beat.
Most, if not all of their forthcoming opponents will be intent on trampling their title dream firmly into the dirt.
West Bromwich Albion, Crystal Palace and Watford have little to play for, while Sunderland, Swansea City and Newcastle United have it all to gain.
Leicester, conversely, have it all to lose.
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