LEICESTER, England -- There was applause. There were banners. There were Andrea Bocelli-soundtracked memories beamed onto the big screen.
And then there was stark vindication.
Thursday brought the cruellest, most ruthless sacking in years. Monday brought compelling evidence that the hard decision was indeed the right decision. Leicester City's players have strenuously denied any involvement in the sacking of Claudio Ranieri. They have denied that there were even any problems between the manager and the dressing room. But on the first night since his exit, they produced a performance that was light years beyond anything they had hitherto deigned to offer this season.