Anarchy in the Premier League: Riyad Mahrez is rewriting the script

When Riyad Mahrez had the chance to join Leicester City in 2014, he wasn't convinced that doing so would be the best step for his career.

In an exclusive with Paul Doyle of the Guardian, Mahrez revealed: "Everybody was saying to me, 'Riyad, England is not for you, it is too physical, too strong. Spanish football would suit you better.' So I never thought I would play in England."

Luckily, Mahrez's agent convinced his client that joining Leicester would be good for him, and once the winger put pen to paper at the East Midlands club and started playing games, it didn't take long for him to admit, "I was stupid to hesitate."

If hesitation seemed foolish then, it seems utterly moronic following Leicester's fifth fixture of the Premier League season.

Mahrez has wasted no time in establishing himself as one of the campaign's breakout players, producing moments of genius that have sent King Power Stadium into a frenzy and that, more importantly, have resulted in Leicester sitting second in the Premier League table, undefeated and appearing capable of competing for a Champions League place.

For a club like Leicester, which flirted with relegation last season and avoided the drop by winning six of seven matches beginning in April, it must be surreal to witness Mahrez's revolution. After all, a player of his quality hasn't suited up for the club in quite some time.

Through five games, the Algeria international tallied four goals and two assists. More impressive, however, is the way he's left defenders for dead, averaging 4.4 dribbles per game, a number only bettered by Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Luis Muriel.

Aston Villa learned just how merciless Mahrez can be. Not only was he the engine behind Leicester's comeback, setting up two of the Foxes' three goals in the final 20 minutes of the contest, but he took his fearlessness to another level, taking on whoever stood in his way en route to Villa's penalty area.

It shouldn't be forgotten that Leicester signed Mahrez for €450,000, a price that seems criminal for what he produces on the pitch.

Of course, the 24-year-old is lucky enough to have a supporting cast that includes Jamie Vardy, Nathan Dyer, Ritchie de Laet, Marc Albrighton, and Danny Drinkwater, all of who have been pivotal in Leicester's start to the season.

Nonetheless, just like Pablo Escobar and the Medellin drug cartel, there's no doubt who's running the operation at Leicester and who's fueling a success of which the club has been starved.

"Whenever he touches the ball, something important can happen for us," manager Claudio Ranieri said after Leicester completed its comeback over Villa.

Nothing would be more important in confirming Leicester's resurgence than qualifying for the Champions League. Such a scenario is nowhere near fruition and involves the steepest of uphill battles, but the fact that European football is even being discussed at the club is an accomplishment in itself.

The Premier League wasn't planning on making Leicester its poster-boy club, but Mahrez doesn't care.