So, how did we get from there to here?Have Leicester ever been in League One before?Leicester's only previous season in the third tier in their 142-year history came in 2008/09, following relegation from the Championship.Under Nigel Pearson, the Foxes secured an instant return to the second level of the English football pyramid as League One champions, setting a host of club records in the process.Between November 1 and March 7 of that season, Leicester went unbeaten for 23 consecutive league games and ended the 46-game season on 96 points, seven clear of Peterborough United in seventh. Their 27 wins and four defeats in a single campaign also represented club-best marks.The Foxes made a strong attempt at earning back-to-back promotions as they reached the Championship playoffs in 2009/10, losing their semifinal against Cardiff City on penalties.

Pearson left at the end of the season but would return for a second spell in charge at Leicester, a tenure that put some key pillars in place for their eventual Premier League title heist.How did Leicester City win the Premier League?One of the truly remarkable things about Leicester's title triumph was that it came on the back of another astonishing achievement.In his second stint in charge, Pearson led Leicester to the 2013/14 Championship title with another dominant season as they won 31 of 46 matches and finished with 102 points. Kasper Schmeichel, Wes Morgan, Danny Drinkwater and Jamie Vardy – a £1million signing from non-league Fleetwood Town in 2021 – all played key roles.

Riyadh Mahrez, an unheralded signing from Le Havre, made 19 appearances in the League.Despite their impressive run to the Championship title, Leicester struggled on their Premier League return in 2014/15. A 4-3 defeat at Tottenham on March 21, 2015, was their 18th loss out of 29 matches at that point in the campaign and they sat bottom of the table.A 2-1 win over West Ham, thanks to Andy King's late winner, lit a fuse and Pearson's men won seven of their final nine matches to complete one of the most remarkable escapes from relegation that the Premier League has ever seen. They finished in 14th position.Pearson was given much of the plaudits for his team's unforeseen escape, but a breakdown in relations with the club's owners led to his sacking mere days before a squad bolstered by the Christian Fuchs, Robert Huth and Shinji Okazaki returned for pre-season training.

Leicester were tipped by many to be relegated under the hastily installed Claudio Ranieri – a popular figure in English football from his time in charge of Chelsea but a coach widely assumed to have seen better days.N'Golo Kante, an €8m signing from Caen, was also in situ as Mahrez scored in each of Leicester's opening three games, which included wins over Sunderland and West Ham. Ranieri's side won three and drew three of their first six before an entertaining 5-2 defeat to Arsenal, after which it was assumed they would revert to a lower-table mean.But Vardy was already on the goal trail by this stage and set a new Premier League record by scoring in 11 consecutive matches when the Foxes drew 1-1 with Manchester United.

In 10 games between the Arsenal loss and a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on Boxing Day, Leicester won eight and drew two to sit top of the table at Christmas.Three draws in the next four — but also three clean sheets as a defence marshalled by Morgan and Huth in front of Schmeichel became more solid by the week – suggested momentum was waning, only for Vardy to score a screamer in a 2-0 win over Liverpool to tee up a trip to face Manchester City.Manuel Pellegrini's side were still viewed as the most likely side to emerge from the pack and haul in Leicester, but Ranieri's men produced one of their performances of the season to run out 3-1 winners. Mahrez's majestic solo goal shortly after halftime told anyone still doubting that a Leicester title charge was a very realistic proposition indeed.Danny Welbeck's last-gasp winner as Arsenal beat Leicester on Valenti