Champion Leicester ends amazing season with draw at Chelsea

LONDON (AP) Leicester ended its remarkable title-winning season with a 1-1 draw against manager Claudio Ranieri's former club Chelsea on Sunday in the English Premier League.

Chelsea took the lead through Cesc Fabregas' penalty in the 60th minute, following a foul on Nemanja Matic by Jeffrey Schlupp.

Leicester's equalizer came in the 82nd minute with Danny Drinkwater's sublime finish into the bottom corner from outside the penalty box.

Leicester finished the season top with 81 points, 10 points above its closest rival Arsenal.

The Premier League champions lost only three league matches - last season they lost 19.

In a match that held little significance for the league table, the former and current champions played out an entertaining game in which both teams created a number of chances.

Drinkwater's goal was the highlight of the match, the Englishman picking the ball up 30 yards (meters) out before drilling the ball low past Thibaut Courtois in the Chelsea goal.

On returning to his former club after 12 years, Ranieri said: ''The emotion is fantastic. It was a good atmosphere and I want to say thank you to our fans and the Chelsea fans. It was amazing.''

The question that many Leicester fans will now be asking is whether the club will be able to hold onto its star players.

''I have told the players it is better if they stay with us one year more and experience the Champions League,'' Ranieri said.

Interim Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink, speaking after what was his final game before departing for the incoming Antonio Conte, said: ''It was a typical end-of-the-season game where there was nothing at stake. We were sloppy after the penalty and they got the equalizer.''

Following a disappointing season, Chelsea finished 10th.