Tuesday 22 March 2016 16:12, UK
Claudio Ranieri is close to winning his first top-flight crown, but has he come close before?
His Leicester side are five points clear of Tottenham in the Premier League, but the lead is unfamiliar territory for the Italian with just seven games remaining.
Despite winning titles in the lower leagues, Ranieri has fallen just short in previous top-tier title charges, and here, we take a look at just how close he came.
The Blues were four points behind Arsenal with seven games remaining, though Arsene Wenger's side did have the advantage of a game in hand over their London rivals.
But Ranieri's side dropped 12 points in their remaining games, including defeats by Aston Villa and Newcastle, as well as draws against Middlesbrough, Everton and Manchester United, to eventually finish 12 points behind 'The Invincibles'.
It would prove to be Ranieri's last action for Chelsea, and the closest they came to a league title under the Italian, before his successor Jose Mourinho finally brought the top-flight crown back to Stamford Bridge after 50 years.
Last seven games: W2, D3, L2
Ranieri's first season in charge of Juventus hadn't gone entirely according to plan, drawing too many games around winter to slip behind in the title race behind Inter Milan and Roma, both sides he would go on to manage.
Ranieri's side were the joint-highest scorers in the league with an attacking duo of Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet, who scored 41 league goals between them, but ultimately the Old Lady stuttered against lesser opposition after Christmas having sat in contention for the title.
They were 14 points behind the lead with seven games remaining, despite having a game in hand, and though they won four out of four from that point, Inter steamed ahead under Roberto Mancini to claim a third straight Serie A crown.
Last seven games: W4, D2, L1
Much like the previous season, Juventus were steady under Ranieri in 2008/09, but were again steamrolled by Inter, this time under Mourinho.
Sitting 10 points behind Inter with seven remaining, Juventus could only draw with their title rivals at home in the next game, before drawing another four to hand the Nerazzurri a fourth straight title.
Inter eventually finished 10 points clear of Juventus, but Ranieri was to come much closer the following season…
Last seven games: W2, D5, L0,
The 2009/10 season was one of the most exciting in Serie A in recent times, and in late March, just three points separated Inter, Roma and AC Milan.
Roma had just beaten Inter with a late Luca Toni goal in the Stadio Olimpico to sit a point behind them with seven games remaining, before Milan soon fell out of contention to leave a two-horse race.
Inter dropped just two points in the last seven games, while Roma dropped three, in an infamous 2-1 home defeat by Champions League-chasing Sampdoria, thanks to an 85th minute Giampaolo Pazzini winner.
In hindsight, if Roma had won that game, in which they took the lead through Francesco Totti, the title would have been theirs on due to having the edge over Mourinho's Inter on head-to-head record.
Last seven games: W6, D0, L1
French side Monaco were taken over by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev in December 2011 with the club in Ligue 2, and after an eighth-place finish that season, Ranieri was brought in to lead them to the top flight as champions.
The first season back in Ligue 1 saw Ranieri spend £140m on Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho, but Monaco still fell short in the title race behind Laurent Blanc's PSG.
With seven games remaining they were 13 points back, and although PSG won just two of their next five games, the gap was too large and Monaco's unbeaten end to the season still left them nine points behind come the final day.
Last seven games: W5, D2, L0
