Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has admitted that his side dropped two points in the Premier League title race by being held by Aston Villa this evening.

The Foxes still returned to the top of the pile following their 1-1 draw, but missed the chance to move three points clear courtesy of Rudy Gestede's equaliser for bottom club Villa.

Leicester had taken the lead through Shinji Okazaki in the first half before Riyad Mahrez missed a penalty, and Ranieri was "very sad" to have missed out on a victory over their Midlands rivals.

"Yes, we lost two points. We started very well and scored a goal but after the missed penalty the Aston Villa players took a new energy. If we score a second goal, we close the match," Ranieri told reporters.

"We are very sad but also I say to the players 'if we make the performance the result is not important'. The performance was good because we played well in the first half. It's one point, it's okay, it's a derby - but we are disappointed."

Leicester will drop back into second place should Arsenal avoid defeat against Stoke City on Sunday.