Christian Eriksen is bantering with Kasper Schmiechel over EPL title race

Christian Eriksen and Kasper Schmeichel are the two most prominent Danish football players in the Premier League right now. Despite being international teammates and friends, they are league rivals, with Schmeichel the starting keeper for Leciester City. The fact that both of them are battling for their clubs' first league title is not lost on either of them.

Eriksen recently gave an interview to Danish media site BT where he discussed, among other things, Tottenham's title race with Leicester and his relationship with Schmeichel.

"Efterhånden er der ikke flere lilleputhold i Premier League, for der er nærmest en overraskelse i hver sæson. At Leicester så har gjort det så godt, som de har, er meget overraskende.

"Det er lidt irriterende, at de bliver ved med at vinde. Med den selvtillid de har, så bygger de kun på. Og de har det held, der skal til for at vinde en liga. De har været rigtige dygtige til det, de kan, og det har gjort, at de ligger så højt oppe.

"Det aftvinger selvfølgelig respekt for, hvad de gør, men de har også været utroligt heldige"

Run that through the Google machine and you get (roughly) the following:

"There aren't any small teams in the Premier League anymore, because there is a surprise in almost every season. For Leicester to have done as well as they have is very surprising.

"It's a bit annoying that they keep winning. They have a lot of confidence, so they keep building. And they have the good fortune to be able to win the league. They've been real good at what they do and it shows in that they are so high up. "

"They obviously deserve respect for what they do, but they have also been incredibly lucky."

That feels about right. Leicester are a very good team, but they have also benefitted from some remarkably fortunate results this season. Calling their continued success "annoying" is, I'm sure, the general consensus of the Tottenham players. Spurs need Leicester to drop points, and fast, if they want any shot of nipping them for the title this year.

Eriksen also noted that he's been engaging in some good-natured banter with Schmeichel via text message as the season careens towards its conclusion.

"Det gør det kun mere sjovt, når vi møder ind med landsholdet. Vi har også sendt nogle beskeder til hinanden, om man ikke snart skulle til at tabe nogle point. Men der bliver ikke rigtigt lyttet."

"That only makes it more fun when we meet in the national team. We have also sent some text messages to each other about dropping points soon. But [Schmeichel's] not really listening."

I've always loved reading about little examples of friends and teammates that are club rivals and how they interact with each other. It's obvious that Eriksen has a great respect for Schmeichel, but he also wants to yank the horseshoe out from around that club's neck. Club banter is the best banter.