Marvellous Mahrez: the solo goal which inspired Leicester's title triumph

Kieran Trippier’s free-kick against Croatia. Gareth Bale’s bicycle kick in the Champions League final. AGUEROOOOOOOOOOO... football is filled with moments so memorable that you can recall exactly where you were when they took place.

Another is Leicester City’s remarkable run to the Premier League title - without doubt one of the many peculiarities which the beautiful game occasionally throws into the mix. However, because it unfolded over a nine-month period, it is difficult to immediately pinpoint one moment which proved to be prophetic in their historic achievement come May 2016.

Jamie Vardy’s record-breaking goal against Manchester United? The late comeback at West Ham? Claudio Ranieri shedding a tear to Nessun Dorma?

Personally, none of the above beat another moment from that season… I was sat in Shooters’ bar in Leeds when this swashbuckling band of misfits and renegades challenged, and eventually overcame, the hegemony of the Premier League establishment in a Wat Tyler-esque fashion.

But unlike the leader of the 1381 peasant’s revolt, who was publicly decapitated, Leicester did NOT lose their heads when they took on the big boys (or, more specifically, Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium) in February 2016. Instead, those who continued to question whether Ranieri’s side had the endurance and quality to sustain their incredible title tilt were well and truly forced to stand up and take notice.

Robert Huth gave the Foxes an early lead before grabbing a second on the hour mark with a towering header – but Riyad Mahrez’s mazy run and powerful finish, sandwiched in between the German’s brace, was the real game-changing moment.

So, let’s start with a particularly familiar phrase which ignited the move in the first place: N’Golo Kante wins the ball back…

Manchester City have begun to grow into the game in the early stages of the second-half, and David Silva attempts to find Aguero, who is waiting on the shoulder of the last defender. Huth easily clears the danger, but Pablo Zabaleta is slow to react, allowing Marc Albrighton and Kante to win the ball on the left-wing and initiate a counter.

The Frenchman picks up the ball on the half-way line with Fernandinho coming across to screen the City defence – vulnerable after committing men forward. Kante cuts back inside, skipping over the Brazilian’s challenge with ease, but overhits his pass to Mahrez, who has to cut back to try and pick up possession.

Nicolas Otamendi’s eyes light up – he can see the events about to unfold before his eyes as he races forward to claim the ball:

Step 1 - slide in, *BANG*

Step 2 – watch as the ball is blasted forward from your challenge, landing at the feet of Aguero

Step 3 – observe as Aguero scores, and your team come back to win the game and close the gap on Leicester at the top of the table

Step 4 – take the plaudits as City then win the league in May… all because of that brilliant suppression of a Leicester counter-attack.

It seems all so simple but Mahrez, unquestionably in the form of his life, has other ideas. Before you can say, “Nicolas, what’s the point in wearing gloves if you’ve got short sleeves?” the Algerian has effortlessly chipped the ball over Otamendi’s gung-ho challenge and is now bearing down on goal.

He appears to have three feasible options now. He can try squaring it across goal to an unmarked Jamie Vardy... but the ball over to the forward has to be perfect, given Aleksandr Kolarov’s positioning.

He could play it safe instead and knock the ball into the path of Shinji Okazaki, who has made a run down the flank to stretch the defence.

Mahrez’s final option, it would seem, would be to take on Demichelis down the left before cutting the ball back for a teammate...

But the Algerian ignored all these options, and made a decision that nobody would have seen coming – something he had never done before or has done since - something which shook the footballing world to its very core…

He cut in onto his right foot

Taking two quick touches on his left foot, Mahrez drops his left shoulder and steps over the ball with his left foot before flicking it to his right in an instant. R9 Ronaldo would have been proud of such a perfectly executed feint, and Demichelis falls for it hook line and sinker, shifting all of his body weight as if to follow the Algerian down the left-flank.

With Demichelis out of the way, Mahrez can still square the ball for Vardy – suddenly stood in acres of space thanks to Kolarov now being forced to press the ball. The Algerian opts against handing it on a plate to his teammate and instead powers the ball in at the near post, completely wrong-footing Joe Hart.

As mentioned, Leicester would go on to win the game 3-1, but the timing of the goal, just two minutes into the second-half, was a hammer blow to the hosts – one from which they simply couldn’t recover.

On the face of it, that victory in City’s back yard moved the Foxes five points clear at the top of the Premier League table. But, in a more important sense, their dismantlement of an immediate rival proved that this was a Leicester City side that were in it for the long run.

This wasn’t a happy-clappy flash in the pan, ready to fade into mid-table obscurity when push came to shove - this lot were on course to achieve the unthinkable.

It might not have won goal of the season, it might not have been a last-minute winner, but Riyad Mahrez’s strike against Manchester City will always live long in my memory – and should be recognised as a key moment in what will go down as one of the most incredible seasons in English top flight history.