Man City hold Leicester

LEICESTER, England (AP):

Leicester relinquished first place in the English Premier League heading into 2016 after drawing 0-0 with Manchester City in an entertaining stalemate yesterday.

Arsenal lead Leicester - the surprise team of the season - on goal difference, with third-place City three points behind after half of the league campaign.

Raheem Sterling, the Jamaica-born winger, was a danger in the first half for City at King Power Stadium, forcing Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel into three saves, while striker Jamie Vardy wasted the home side's best chance by blazing over when clear on goal.

City finally managed to keep a clean sheet without injured captain Vincent Kompany (calf) who was ruled out for up to four weeks by manager Manuel Pellegrini after the game but hasn't won away in their last six attempts.

"I don't think in December that you're going to win the title," Pellegrini said. "At the end of January and the first week of February, maybe we can see more who are finally the teams which will be involved in the fight."

After a loss at Liverpool on Saturday, Leicester's title credentials were questioned by some, especially as they were battling relegation all of last season. But Claudio Ranieri's side silenced their doubters with another superb performance, holding their own against many pundits' favourites for the championship.

"This league is very crazy . nobody wants to win the league. It's very strange," Ranieri said. "We're the basement and the other teams are a villa with a swimming pool. It's not easy for us but we want to fight with everybody.

"It's a miracle what we're doing."