5 Truths: Masterful Riyad Mahrez is the best player in England

Riyad Mahrez’s has that rare ability to ghost past players with minimal effort; it is almost balletic as he slaloms past flailing bodies. However, what sets him apart from many a contemporary is the fact that this season Mahrez has produced end product consistently. He has yielded 11 goals and 7 assists in 14 starts this season. It is a phenomenal return.

His unique talent was probably best summed up by his goal. Not only did he turn Cesar Azpilicueta inside out, he remained composed and, when the chance looked like it had gone, he bent it top corner with outside the reach of Thibaut Courtois.

His level has been superb: this season he has been the best player in the league.

The disconnect between Mourinho and his players was probably best summed up by his post-match tirade that he felt betrayed by his players.

Mourinho – rightly or wrongly – wanted to contain Leicester. A particular gripe came with his players’ inability, or worse, unwillingness to double up on Riyad Mahrez. Truth be told, both Leicester goals came from Mahrez coming back on his left and first assisting Jamie Vardy and then scoring himself.

If Mourinho had asked his players to double up on Mahrez and they refused then that is tantamount to gross misconduct. Mourinho offered Leicester the respect their form deserved and claimed his players did not. If that is the case then the working relationship between players and manager is dead.

Mahrez is the toast of the town at Leicester after assisting the opener and scoring a wonderful clincher just after the break. Rightly so, too. Vardy, of course, isn’t far behind him – the thousands of crisp packets around the King Power Stadium bearing his name and likeness serving as proof of this – but his role in that first Foxes goal shows just how much he is up there with the winger when it comes to the success of the unlikely league leaders.

Though Mahrez’s ball was exquisite and completely exposed John Terry, the way Vardy positioned himself and then timed his run between JT and Kurt Zouma, who should have had the striker covered, was of the highest quality. Goals like these are more than just the end product provided by poachers – Vardy pounded with the stealth of a trained assassin and put the hosts in the drivers’s seat.

The Leicester manager has seen a lot and done a lot in his career – including managing the side he condemned to yet another defeat. But regardless of where the team finish in the final league table, no matter what they ultimately accomplish, he will surely rank this match in his top three as a boss.

The magnitude of the role reversal and the quality of the goals were great, but it will be putting another nail in the coffin of Jose Mourinho’s time in charge at Stamford Bridge which ‘The Tinkerman’ will cherish most – as evidenced by the sheer emotion on his face at full-time, as the two engaged in an awkward handshake. Mourinho has dogged Ranieri for years, stemming back to when he replaced the Italian at the start of his first Chelsea reign. Ranieri has remained silence in the face of much of the abuse. Tonight, his players’ actions spoke a thousand words. Each.

“Could Leicester actually win the Premier League?” “Surely their slump down to mid-table is just around the corner?” – both of those remarks, and similar variants, currently infest the feelgood factor Leicester have brought to a top flight which often feels very samey. Let’s face it: one of the two will happen. But why are we getting caught up in that now? Live in the moment, when it comes to City’s results, and you’ll enjoy the experience a lot more with each passing week. That’s exactly what Ranieri and the players are doing – and they’re doing it in style.