Chelsea 3-0 Leicester City : Five Talking Points

Antonio Conte’s men had an easy home game as they defeated the defending champions easily, thanks to the goals scored by Costa, Hazard and Moses. Leicester had a horrible first half as Chelsea totally dominated the champions and ended up scoring within first 10 minutes of the game. Leicester, though came to life in the second half but that didn’t change the result nor did it affect the scoreline that much.

1.Diego Costa-the man in form

Diego Costa has found his shooting boots this season after a horrible campaign and now leads the race for the Premier League golden boot. The Brazil born Spanish striker scored in the 7th minute. Nemanja Matic flicked Hazard’s corner kick which found Costa completely unmarked and the Chelsea man made no mistake with only Schmeichel to beat from the close range.

The Spaniard has goals from 8 games and has been Chelsea’s main man in attack. He was all over the opposition today testing the keeper as well as trying to create oppurtunities for his teammates. Chelsea don’t have a good enough backup for Costa so he will remain the first name on the team sheet and his form is really important for Chelsea’s chances to finish in top four. Manchester United is next for Chelsea and surely if Costa maintains this kind of form Chelsea may grab all the three points from their rivals.

2. Focussing on Champions League costs Leicester

Claudio Ranieri had an eye on the Champions League game against Danish side FC Copenhagen as he dropped Silimani and Mahrez for Schlupp and Musa against a mighty Chelsea. The weakness clearly showed as Leicester failed to create anything in the first half as two of their main attackers were present there on the bench. Leicester did try hard in the second half almost making David Luiz score an own goal as well but weren’t good enough to get on the scoresheet. The duo came on late in the game and failed to do much as Leicester again succumbed to a top side in the Premier League after Manchester United and Liverpool.

Ranieri will have to rethink and make some major changes in tactics if he wants to repeat last years success or let alone qualifying for Champions League. Focussing on Champions League doesn’t even make sense, Leicester have a really bleak chance of winning it considering the heavyweights like Real Madrid , Barcelona etc. waiting for them in the next round or so. Ranieri has a lot of work to do for the next week when they face Crystal Palace at home.

3. Chelsea’s midfield was a class above

Chelsea’s midfielders won the game for them today, the way they dominated the ball and won the possession back really quick, Chelsea had the game in bag in the first thrity minutes itself. Leicester’s midfield looked totally out of sorts, failing to dominate possession, let alone creating a chance. Danny Drinkwater, Mark Albrighton, Amartey all had no clue what was going on around them, as Chelsea kept on creating chances after chances. This changed somewhat in the second half when Conte called off the high press he was implementing and allowed Leicester to have possession and play on the counter.

Nemanja Matic and Kante were really good today. Kante’s offensive work was great as well, as he created some really good chances and was comfortable with the ball. Matic bagged an assist today with a lovely flick which found Costa completely unmarked, thanks to some poor marking by Wes Morgan. Even the substitute Chakobah bagged a really amazing backheel assist late in the game.?Chelsea were still missing Oscar, Fabregas and still had a really good game which is a big boost ahead of the game against Manchester United next week.

4. Leicester’s defence needs to be fixed

Leicester’s biggest strength last season was their defense as they easily defended the one goal leads and made it really difficult for the opposition to score just like Atletico Madrid. Now, that has become their biggest weakness as time and again there are concentration lapses which leads to the goals. Even today Wes Morgan was caught sleeping as he left Diego Costa completely unmarked during the corner as the team conceded within 10 minutes of the game. The same was the case against Manchester United as they conceded 4 in the first half.

The marking this season has been really poor especially in the away games. Leicester have failed to register a win in their last 4 away games in the league. This is a serious cause of concern as Leicester do not have a world class attack that will compensate for a leaky defense. If the defense comes back to the old form, Leicester will surely be back alive and kicking as shipping early goals does damage the mentality of the team a lot.

5. Amazing gesture from ? ? ?Chelsea players

Chelsea winger Willian lost his mother recently and did not take part in the game but Chelsea players made an amazing gesture during the game. Each time Chelsea scored, the scorer remembered him with Costa making a “W” with his hands while Hazard the number “22” which is the kit number of Willian. It was a really good gesture from his teammates and an act of respect from these players.