Chelsea registered a comfortable victory over Leicester City, with Antonio Rudiger, N’Golo Kante and Christian Pulisic getting the job done.
Thomas Tuchel will be relieved after his Chelsea side got in their stride to sweep Leicester City aside at the King Power Stadium. Despite their morale-sapping 1-1 draw to Burnley in the previous matchday, the London side never looked out of touch on Saturday.
They were in control right from the start, with Jorginho creating a brilliant opportunity for Ben Chilwell, who put his shot over. Leicester looked to break away on the counter, although Thomas Tuchel’s side knew this and kept things tight at the back, allowing no space for Jamie Vardy or Harvey Barnes to operate.
Antonio Rudiger then gave Chelsea the lead with a glancing header from a corner, highlighting Leicester’s problems with set-pieces. N’Golo Kante then got into a good position only to drag his shot wide. Meanwhile, on the other end, Ademola Lookman scored but got his goal ruled out for offside. Kante then made a bursting run with the ball and smashed home Chelsea’s second to put them in a comfortable position before the break.
Chelsea got a third in the second half after substitutes Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic combined for the latter to score. The London side also had two more goals ruled out for offside and realistically could have put several more than just the three goals past a hapless Leicester City. Here’s how the players rated as Chelsea beat Leicester City by 3-0.
Leicester City
Kasper Schmeichel – 4.5/10
He couldn’t do much about any of the three strikes on his goal, although he was guilty of sloppy distribution and passing. Kept some strikes out, especially a few from Ben Chilwell.
Daniel Amartey – 3/10
Amartey made several errors, gave away unnecessary fouls and even picked up an early booking in the game. Did not look comfortable in the three-man backline.
Jonny Evans – 4/10
Evans looked out of sorts when the entire Leicester team looked to him for leadership. Committed too many fouls and was poor in defending from set-pieces throughout the game. Moreover, he looked extremely slow coming up against the Chelsea forwards, who were enjoying challenging him.
Caglar Soyuncu – 3.5/10
Something’s wrong with Soyuncu this season, as his consistently sloppy performances continued. He failed to track Chelsea’s wide attackers while looking sloppy around the penalty area.
Marc Albrighton – 3/10
Albrighton certainly did not look comfortable playing wing-back, as he struggled throughout his time on the pitch. While the attackers found too much space off him, the winger failed to offer anything significant in the attack.
Boubakary Soumare – 3/10
Rodgers got his formation wrong by placing two holding midfielders, who failed to progress the ball further up the pitch. While Soumare effectively disrupted play, his passing wasn’t up to the mark, which meant Leicester’s attackers suffered.
Wilfried Ndidi – 3.5/10
As explained with Soumare, a similar issue: Ndidi was not progressing the ball well and looked comfortable only in breaking up play. Dropped even deeper after the break to provide a defensive base for Leicester.
Timothy Castagne – 3/10
Like some other Leicester stars, Castagne has fallen off the grid this season and put in another uninspired performance. No contributions whatsoever in attack, while looking weak defensively.
Ademola Lookman – 4.5/10
He looked sharp from the start, although he went off the radar as the first half passed. He had a goal disallowed for offside and was taken off at half-time.
Jamie Vardy – 3.5/10
Chelsea kept Vardy quiet throughout the game. He never really got anywhere near threatening Edouard Mendy’s goal and finished the match in a rather disappointing fashion.
Harvey Barnes – 4/10
Much like all the other forwards in Leicester colours, Barnes had an off day in the office. Despite his impressive pressing, there was nothing to show in the final third of the pitch.
Substitutes
Kelechi Iheanacho – 5/10
He improved Leicester’s attacking play after coming on at half-time.
James Maddison – 6/10
He could be considered the best attacking outlet for Leicester on the day, after adding some creativity in the final third, although little came out of it.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – 5/10
He came on as Leicester looked to avoid an embarrassment in the last 15 minutes and did fine.
Chelsea
Edouard Mendy – 7/10
Kept things tight in goal, making some important stops, particularly from a long-range effort of Amartey in the second half. Mendy looked focused throughout the match.
Trevoh Chalobah – 7/10
A comfortable time for the young defender at the back, as Leicester hardly threatened from his side. Gave good support to Reece James whenever the full-back pushed forward. He seems to be growing in his role at the back.
Thiago Silva – 8.5/10
A colossal performance from the veteran centre-back, who cruised through the game. Kept things tight, winning everything that came his way and never allowed Leicester any hope of building attacks around the box. Also played some eye-catching forward passes from the back.
Antonio Rudiger – 8.5/10
A fantastic day for Rudiger, who was a handful for Leicester to deal with. Got the opening goal to set the tone for the rest of the game and never let anything slip past him defensively.
Reece James – 8/10
As things stand, James remains Chelsea’s top scorer in the league this season and he put in yet another top performance. Despite not getting his name on the scoresheet, James was a threat from the right flank, which Leicester found hard to contain.
N’Golo Kante – 8.5/10
Kante was at his best, never allowing Leicester to create anything from the build-up. Apart from frequently breaking up play, Kante got a sensational goal to his name, putting Chelsea in a comfortable position in the first half.
Jorginho – 8/10
Perfectly placed in the centre to control proceedings and dictate the tempo of Chelsea’s play forward. He created a few early chances, and was an effective piece in Tuchel’s puzzle.
Ben Chilwell – 8/10
Chilwell should have added to his season’s goal tally early in the game but did make amends by delivering an inch-perfect corner for Rudiger to open the scoring. He always looked a threat, much like James from the flank.
Mason Mount – 6/10
Mount was comparatively poor among Chelsea’s attacking options, as he failed to find his fluidity after returning to the side having undergone dental surgery.
Calum Hudson-Odoi – 6.5/10
Hudson-Odoi was slightly better than Mount in the frontline as he kept his relentless levels of pressing high. He also created a few good chances and proved problematic to Leicester’s backline throughout the match.
Kai Havertz – 6/10
Havertz was in his usual rhythm, being the link to other attackers with some neat touches in the final third. He did find it hard to get behind the Leicester defence for most parts, but contributed well with his all-round play.
Substitutes
Hakim Ziyech – 7.5/10
A fantastic cameo from Ziyech, who was excellent on the ball. Made He got a good assist for Pulisic’s goal.
Christian Pulisic – 7.5/10
Scored a good goal on his return and could have had another.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 6/10
A decent cameo after replacing Jorginho, as Chelsea saw the game out.
