Top 5 Premier League winners of the 21st century

#4 Leicester (2015/2016)

The biggest surprise winner of the EPL since its first season

The incredible story of Leicester City's remarkable triumph goes without saying: the whole footballing world were amazed by their stunning league triumph against all the odds. They might not have had the best starting 11 or the best points total but they definitely deserve a place in this list.

Put simply, their win was a matter of all the right ingredients coming together at the right time to create a surprising recipe for success. Manager Claudio Ranieri had earned a reputation as being somewhat of a 'nearly man' in football: he had come 2nd in Serie A a few times and he had only won domestic cup competitions during his career. His appointment at Leicester was met with apprehension as a result.

The team had barely avoided relegation the previous season and Ranieri kept most of the starting 11 from that campaign, meaning expectations were extremely low. What happened next is testament to the power of trust in people. With the pressure off and the chance to gel as a team and prove themselves, Leicester went on a stunning unbeaten run.

Players who had struggled before suddenly looked transformed. Wes Morgan and Robert Huth in defence acted like a brick wall to opposition attackers with goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel imitating his famous dad Peter behind them. N'Golo Kante became the find of the season, plucked from obscurity in French football, a hive of non-stop activity and tackling in the midfield.

It was attackers Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy who emerged as the main reason for their amazing triumph: the Algerian winger played like a man possessed, tearing defences apart all on his own at times, but he also combined incredibly well with Vardy up front.

The Englishman had played non-league football only 4 seasons prior but swiftly proved he belonged at this level, scoring an astounding 24 goals in 36 league appearances. His pace and acceleration were just too much for most defences and it seemed like he couldn't miss the target for stretches of the campaign.

The team grew into most neutrals favorite team, naturally because of the narrative, but also because they were a true footballing throwback. Ranieri lined them up in a traditional 4-4-2 formation, with a tight and solid defence, wingers who liked to get crosses into the box, and a front pairing of Vardy and Shinji Okazaki who combined effectively like the greats of yesteryear.

They ground out a lot of results by tight margins, never battering another side, but that didn't matter. It says it all about Leicester's win that season that many say it will be highly unlikely that we'll see a similar story again.