For all the well-wishes and patronising pats on the back Leicester have earned this season, Tuesday night may well have seen Man City and Arsenal fans anxiously thumb the Foxes fixture list for the very first time. Claudio Ranieri’s boys have stuck around much longer than expected.

Jamie Vardy insisted he plans to stay at Leicester after his wonder goal inspired the Foxes to a 2-0 win over Liverpool.

Man United 0 Chelsea 0: More direct and purposeful they may have been as they ended a disappointing 2015 at Old Trafford, but a goalless draw for Louis van Gaal and Manchester United against Chelsea still indicates there are vast swathes of work required from the Dutchman and his players in the new year.

Crystal Palace 0 Swansea City 0: Patrick Bamford is understood to have opted to end his loan stint at Crystal Palace and return to Chelsea, after missing a gilt-edged chance to settle this stalemate.

Xherdan Shaqiri delivered one of the goals of the season and Romelu Lukaku continued his remarkable scoring record at Goodison Park but ultimately a controversial penalty in injury time was the deciding factor as Stoke finally triumphed in a seven-goal epic.

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini is convinced Leicester have what it takes to stay the course in the title race.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Stoke 2 Man United 0: LOUIS VAN GAAL had better brace himself — and his family — for a torrent of further speculation about his Manchester United future after a fourth successive defeat in all competitions pushed him to the edge of the precipice.

Who pushed the boundaries this year?

Michael Carrick claims it is “disrespectful” to say Manchester United’s players are not giving their all for Louis van Gaal.

His 23-year-old son routinely tells him he’s old-fashioned but Seamus Durack has never left the coalface of hurling these last 50 years. Be it senior or under-age teams (this year he completed a two-season stint with his own Éire Óg seniors in Ennis), he has made sure to remain relevant.

Liverpool’s red revolution has been a little slower than some of the more excitable members of The Kop anticipated when Jurgen Klopp first arrived at Anfield, prompting a sudden frisson of anticipation from Merseyside to Malaysia.

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney insists the players are fighting to ease the pressure on manager Louis van Gaal and turn the club’s season around.