Why the wheels AREN'T falling off Leicester's title bid… yet

If someone visiting from another planet had seen the dejection that met the final whistle at the King Power Stadium they would likely have thought Leicester City had blown any chance of winning the Premier League title. In truth they are very much alive in the race for glory.

A 2-2 draw at home to West Brom is not the kind of result a title tilt is generally built on, and after the Foxes’ heroics in recent months it is not hard to work out why many supporters left Filbert Way feeling a little glum regarding their chances of completing the ultimate football fairytale.

But in reality this was a performance that prospective champions would be proud of. In a match in which many felt they could struggle to break down the Baggies, Claudio Ranieri’s side mustered 22 shots on goal and had enough clearcut chances to win three matches. Only the woodwork and Ben Foster stopped them this time.

"It was a fantastic match, and I am very pleased with our performance," Ranieri told reporters post-match. "[We needed] just a goal, but we created a lot of chances. It was a little unlucky, but I’m happy.

"I am more confident now than after the match against Norwich. With Norwich we won the match at the end but we created very, very few chances. Tonight we created a lot of chances, drew the match, but that’s okay.

"Four points from two difficult matches is fantastic. We are alive. Our spirit is ready to fight again. I’m not so happy without the three points, but you can’t always get three points. Then I look at the performance, and the performance was fantastic."

Leicester’s run-in has been lauded as remarkably straightforward, but Saturday’s last-gasp win over Norwich only served to show that it would be anything but as opponents set out to defend and limit the space for Ranieri’s swashbuckling attacking players to operate in.

A similarly cagey encounter was expected against West Brom, particularly given Tony Pulis’s penchant for playing multiple defenders and stifling the league’s top sides. His team had only conceded 14 goals away from home in the league before the visit to the King Power and were buoyed by two straight wins that have helped them pull clear of relegation trouble.

But with Saido Berahino and Stephane Sessegnon retained alongside Salomon Rondon in an attacking trio, it was clear early on that there would be opportunities for Leicester if they were good enough to take them.

It may have needed Rondon’s opener to stun them into life, but for 75 minutes they were thrilling to watch. Riyad Mahrez seemed to have got back in the groove after a quiet game against Norwich while Marc Albrighton’s crossing ability is matched by very few in England's top-flight at present.

Alongside them, Danny Drinkwater put in perhaps his finest performance of what is becoming a stellar season for the former Manchester United trainee while Andy King helped cover for N’Golo Kante’s absence in a hard-working display that was rewarded with a goal.

Many pondered how Ranieri’s side would cope without the summer signing from Caen, but King highlighted the spirit that has been created in the squad, in a similar fashion to matchwinner Leonardo Ulloa three days earlier, as he barely put a foot wrong.

Craig Gardner’s stunning free-kick may have denied the home side all three points, but there were very few negatives that Ranieri will lose sleep over.

His defence – most notably Robert Huth – struggled at times to deal with the physicality of Rondon, but having not conceded at home for near enough eight hours they can be forgiven for one sub-par display. They cannot afford to make it a habit, of course, but some of their title challengers have far bigger issues to resolve before they start to close the gap.

The draw means that Tottenham can overhaul them at the summit with a win over West Ham on Wednesday, but if anything that could suit Leicester. Suddenly the pressure would not be quite as intense, while Mauricio Pochettino’s side would need to deal with being top of the Premier League for the first time outside of August in the division’s history.

Spurs’s visit to Upton Park is followed closely by the north London derby on Saturday, meaning at least one of Leicester’s title rivals will have dropped points by the time they take to the pitch again against Watford that evening. The clash at Vicarage Road now takes on more significance, but failing to beat the Hornets would still not be the end of their challenge.

In stoppage time Ranieri had to stop goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel from going forward for a free-kick, leaving the Dane visibly furious with his manager. But Leicester’s players, as well as their fans, must realise that all is not lost.

Pulis revealed he will now be supporting the Foxes to go on and win the title, and he is far from alone in doing that. If the performance against his team can be replicated going forward, he may not be disappointed come May 15.