Ranieri welcomes the return of ‘true’ champions Leicester
Claudio Ranieri believed the Leicester of last season returned against Manchester City and hailed the team for playing “smart”.
The Foxes steered themselves clear of danger with an emphatic 4-2 win against Pep Guardiola’s altered side, with Riyad Mahrez and hat-trick hero Jamie Vardy both getting back to their best.
“It was the true Leicester today, maybe because we have played so badly in our last few matches, but today we were so strong,” Ranieri told BBC Sport.
“We wanted to do best for our fans because they support us a lot and travel to Portugal and we did not play so well. For this reason we wanted to show our best.
“We played smart, slowed down the tempo, everyone know what we do but it is important to score two goals very early.
“This is our strength, we can’t keep possession often, our strength is to play fast, find a solution.
“I told my players the result is always important but today we had to fight till the end.