By Graham Ruthven (@grahamruthven)

This is really happening. The reality of what is unfolding can no longer be ignored, with the time for dismissive flippancy now past. Whether or not it could ever have been predicted is irrelevant, as English soccer continues to rub its eyes in disbelief. Leicester City are indeed Premier League challengers. They might even be frontrunners.

The Foxes 3-1 win over Manchester City might well go down as the defining moment of this season’s English top-flight campaign. It wasn’t just the fact that Claudio Ranieri’s side escaped the home of the Premier League’s supposed best team with three points in-hand - it was the manner with which they did it. 

City were thrashed around on their own patch, in front of their own fans, as Leicester quite literally ran away with the reward. True to their nickname, the Foxes are smart and cunning in their play, but their real strength can be found in their remarkable energy levels. They just don’t stop hassling and harrying, sprinting and scuttling. They are relentless.

And they are now the bookmakers’ favourites to be crowned Premier League champions come May. This time last year Leicester City found themselves slumped at the foot of the table, yet they now top the pile. Even if Ranieri’s side do eventually falter, their tale will go down in English soccer folklore. 

Not that anyone at the King Power Stadium would settle for that right now. Leicester City have enjoyed such a sensational season so far it’s getting to the point where by it would be sore if they didn’t have a trophy to clutch by the conclusion. Ranieri has continually played down expectations of his side, but he is fighting a losing battle now. There’s no longer any way to keep the Foxes under wraps.

It’s time to accept Leicester for what they currently are - the best team in the Premier League by some distance. They demonstrated that at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, and in Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez they arguably have the league’s two best players as well. With that duo in top form Leicester are certainly good enough to win the title. Even without them, they still stand as a formidable outfit.

“We’re just enjoying it aren’t we? We’re just enjoying the ride,” Vardy insisted after Saturday’s win over City, once more playing down talk of a title tilt. “If you start thinking about it too much it’s going to affect you, it’s as simple as that. We’ll just continue to do exactly the same thing we’ve done all season. 

“[Arsenal are] up there, we’re up there, City are, Tottenham, Manchester United might be 10 points adrift but the way this season’s going those 10 points can be picked up quickly. We’ll just take every game as it comes, knuckle down and hopefully keep picking points up.”

But no matter how many Leicester players and staff refuse to commit to a title challenge, they continue to do so on the pitch. This kind of thing happens in other leagues - like when Wolfsburg won the Bundesliga in 2009, or when Montpellier lifted the Ligue 1 title four years ago - but not in the Premier League. Not even when Blackburn Rovers won the championship back in 1995 was the English game turned upside down like it has been this season.

And yet Leicester are where they should be, as the strongest and most consistent team the Premier League has to offer right now. Sure, they might have made the most of a weak field - with defending champions Chelsea still languishing in the bottom half of the table - but Ranieri is the only one sitting at the table with a game-plan. 

Tactically, the rest are making it up as they go along - just as the bookmakers are now doing with their title projections. At times it’s as if this entire season has been made up.