Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez celebrates scoring his second goal of the match against Southampton. Photo / AP
Leicester City performed one of sport's great escape acts, avoiding relegation from the EPL with a game to spare having won just four of their first 29 games. Stunning season turnarounds come in many shapes and sizes, and here are a few others.
The Crusaders, 1998
The star-studded Blues with Jonah
Lomu et al ruled rugby and had won the first two Super titles. The Crusaders meanwhile were lowly regarded, and with good reason. They were last after five rounds but a withering burst of nine straight wins took them to the title, inflicting the first ever loss on the Blues at Eden Park in the final. A dynasty was born.
St Louis Cardinals, 2011
ESPN writer Jayson Stark described them as "the most improbable World Series champions who ever lived". They were dead and buried (10.5 wins behind the Braves to be precise) with only 31 games to play. Then they became only the second team to survive a one-strike-away situation in the World Series to win the title.
Scott Dixon, 2013
The Kiwi ace had a shocking first half of this IndyCar season because of technical issues, crashes and errors. He led a total of one lap during the first 10 races. But three wins in eight days engineered a remarkable reversal of fortunes which led to his third title.
The Broncos, 1999
Captain Allan Langer was the big casualty when the Broncos lost eight of their first 10. Under new leader Kevin Walters, the Brisbane powerhouse won 11 consecutive games and grabbed the final spot in the eight-team playoffs, although their magical run stopped there.
