[ad_1]
Leicester is the best in the league and worthy contenders for the title. Who knows what Chelsea is? It’s not what many think it should be, that’s for sure, which is why Frank Lampard’s management is under new scrutiny. This was Chelsea’s fifth loss in their last eight league games and there could be no objection to the result at King Power, where Brendan Rodgers’ team was superior in every respect.
Leicester edged and outscored the visitors and sealed the victory thanks to first-half goals from Wilfred Ndidi and James Maddison. They could have scored more against a Chelsea side that mixed tantalizingly skilled interaction with alarming slowness and rickety defense. Sometimes they seemed like an attractive work in progress; they mostly looked like a disenchanted side making moves. Lampard has criticized the attitude of the players on several occasions this season. Some do not seem to respond.
While Leicester had the top in their sights, Lampard entered this game having to explain why Chelsea was squatting so far below them. Roman Abramovich spent no more than £ 200 million to build a team of Rans too. It is also not noted for its tolerance for patterns of adjustment periods and teething problems. Given that the club has dumped managers of much better pedigree than Lampard, it needed to show that, despite its lack of experience, it can guide this team up and fast. The best way to indicate progress would be to beat high-ranking opponents, a feat Chelsea had yet to accomplish in the league this season.
Lampard made four changes to the roster that kicked off Saturday’s win at Fulham, which ended a three-game losing streak on his travels. Tammy Abraham started up front, while Kai Havertz got another chance to strike a deal with the Premier League. Reece James returned as a right back, with Callum Hudson-Odoi on the wing in front of him.
Leicester opted for consistency, Rodgers lined up the same team that proved too good for Southampton on Saturday. They picked up where they left off, opening the scoring against a slow Chelsea after six minutes. The goal encapsulated Leicester’s superior sharpness and pace. Marc Albrighton played a short corner to Maddison and then accepted the return pass before returning the ball to Harvey Barnes near the penalty spot. Barnes, whose magnificent center he had led to the corner, landed a shot in the air, a bad shot that became the perfect tee for Ndidi, who hit a superb left-foot shot off the post from 20 yards. The Nigerian’s first goal of the season was a work of beauty. Things had gotten even uglier for Lampard.
Worse nearly followed in the 15th minute, when Maddison unleashed a shot that edged Edouard Mendy from even further away. This time the ball hit the crossbar and moved on. The opportunity had been created by Timothy Castagne after the Belgian galloped down the right wing, leaving Ben Chilwell and others in his wake. As a vignette of the best performance Leicester is getting from its recruits, that told a story, even if Chilwell has generally delivered more than Chelsea’s other recent signings.
Chilwell began dangerous runs on his own as the first half progressed. But as Chelsea’s attack failed, too many players were weakened or out of sync. Abraham struggled to hold the ball up, while Havertz seemed out of reach.
Leicester threatened again from long range when Albrighton let fly from 25 yards. Mendy pushed the deflected shot over the bar.
However, Chelsea created a good opportunity in the 32nd minute, when Christian Pulisic teamed up with Havertz before presenting Hudson-Odoi with an excellent invitation to score. But the winger fired a shot into the side net. Then came an even more agonizing series of events for Chelsea: First, a penalty in their favor was disallowed when, after reviewing the evidence, referee Craig Pawson decided that Jonny Evans fouled Pulisic just outside the box. Mason Mount missed the free throw. Moments later, Leicester made it 2-0 in a damning fashion.
Albrighton slashed the ball from midfield over the rickety Chelsea defense, Antonio Rüdiger collided with Jamie Vardy and Maddison was free to shoot smartly from eight yards.
Surprisingly, Lampard did not call in any of his high-level substitutes at halftime. Happy with the counterattack, Leicester blew a huge hole in their defense again in the 50th minute, but James Justin headed wide from Albrighton’s center. Five minutes later, Maddison separated them again with an exquisite pass, but Leicester sabotaged their own brilliant play by going out of play. But soon the hosts were back on their way forward, Maddison cleverly conspiring with Vardy before forcing a good save from Mendy.
With his team drifting towards defeat, Lampard finally looked for a different plan in the 67th minute. Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech entered for Hudson-Odoi and Havertz. The new duo made little difference until five minutes to go, when Werner stabbed the ball into the net after a Ziyech free kick. To no avail, as the German was considered to have been slightly offside.
