Claudio Ranieri: 'Stoke City draw a turning point for Leicester City'

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has said that he is hopeful Saturday's 2-2 draw with Stoke City can act as a turning point in his side's Premier League campaign.

The Foxes looked to be on the brink of a ninth defeat in their dismal title defence after losing striker Jamie Vardy to a contentious red card and falling two goals down before half time.

City showed some of the spirit that took them all the way to a maiden top-flight crown last term, however, as Leonardo Ulloa and Daniel Amartey both found the net in the final 15 minutes to rescue the visitors an unlikely point.

Ranieri insists that he remained positive at the midway point despite his side's prospects looking bleak, although more of the same is now required with City just three points clear of the dropzone.

"It was a fantastic spirit and we wanted to fight until the end so it was important for us to play well," he told reporters. "It could be a turning point, but we have to wait and see the next matches.

"It was a fantastic performance because we were 2-0 down, one man less and we drew the match – similar to last season. I hope this is our turning point and we can produce other fantastic performances.

"At the start we were very dangerous and after the sending off everything changed, my players were so nervous. During half time we spoke a lot and had to believe something good was possible. I am always positive. At the end I needed some fresh players in the team and they made the difference."

Leicester, with one win in their last eight league matches, host Everton and West Ham United in their next two outings.