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Chelsea welcomed Leicester City to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, desperate for their first win of the season. New manager Frank Lampard had experienced an inauspicious start to life as Maurizio Sarri's successor.
The Englishman had faced defeat in both of his two competitive games as a Chelsea boss so far. A humiliating 4-0 loss at the hands of Manchester United in the Premier League last weekend was followed by a narrow defeat against Liverpool in the UEFA Supercup.
But not everything was gloom and cloudy for the Blues. Lampard's team had shown encouraging signs in both games and had stretched the European Champions Liverpool to the penalty shootouts in the Supercup. However, Leicester City represented an entirely different proposition on Sunday.
The Foxes might have lost their defensive stalwart Harry Maguire to Manchester United, but still had enough firepower in the team to unsettle a disoriented Chelsea backline. However, Lampard was aware that one win could change the mood at the club and he named his team accordingly.
The Englishman started with Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal, with Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Kurt Zouma and Emerson as the back four. In the midfield, N'Golo Kante was stationed alongside Jorginho, while Mason Mount played in the No. 10 role. The front three consisted of Pedro, Christian Pulisic and Olivier Giroud.
The home side started the game on fire, pressing Leicester City to the wall and scoring early through Mason Mount. The first half ended with the score 1-0 in Chelsea's favour, but the away side were already knocking on the door. Leicester City ultimately scored the equalizer through Wilfred Ndidi and the game ended 1-1.
While Frank Lampard will be frustrated by the collective failure of his entire team, these 5 men were especially poor for Chelsea on the night.
#5 Andreas Christensen
After taking the lead early in the game, Chelsea was expected to score a few more as the game progressed. Unfortunately, the Blues failed to build upon their fantastic start and allowed Leicester to grow in confidence.
Every time the away side knocked on the door, Chelsea looked fragile at the back. Andreas Christensen was especially poor in defence and was guilty of having an off day. The Danish defender failed to deal with the Leicester pressure and looked tensed and nervous with the ball at his feet.
Ultimately, poor defending cost Chelsea a win, as Leicester City scored the equalizer from a set-piece. Christensen’s lacklustre performance in the centre back position should be a cause of concern for Frank Lampard.
#4 Emerson
Emerson struck the frame of the goal against Manchester United in the opening weekend and also forced David de Gea into a couple of world-class saves in the game.
The Brazilian has a fantastic left foot and can hit a near-perfect volley. While his defending does have room for improvement, his impact in the final third makes him a very important player for the Blues. Against Leicester City though, the Brazilian had one of his quietest nights in a Chelsea shirt.
Emerson struggled to deal with Youri Tielemans and Ayoze Perez on the Chelsea left, who regularly went past him with ease. The Brazilian was also non-existent in the final third and failed to strike up a partnership with Christian Pulisic.
When Leicester City grew in confidence in the game and pressed the home side into a defensive stance, Chelsea tried to play on the counter. Emerson is generally a good outlet during the breaks, however, he could not take advantage of the situation against Leicester.
#3 Christian Pulisic
The departure of Eden Hazard has opened up a vacuum at Chelsea and quite a few players are vying for the Belgian's position in the team. One of the players who was brought in to take over the mantle from Hazard is Christian Pulisic. Frank Lampard had allotted the American quite a bit of freedom in attack against Leicester City, however, Pulisic failed to grab the opportunity on the night.
During the opening stages of the game, the American was impressive as Lampard’s team implemented a high press that unsettled the away side. Pulisic even took up decent positions in the final third but was guilty of holding on to the ball for too long. As the game progressed, the American drifted away to the point where he was largely ineffective.
When Leicester City took the game to Chelsea, the home side tried to defend as a unit. This required every player to press and close down the opposition. Pulisic looked very uncomfortable without the ball and ultimately had to be replaced in the second half.
#2 Olivier Giroud
Like the rest of the team, Olivier Giroud started the game on a bright note, using his stature very well to open up the opposition. Chelsea looked to use his frame as an advantage in the first half, regularly opting for long balls in the opening stages.
However, the Frenchman is quite static on the field and in a fast and fluid Chelsea side, he looked the weak link in the counter-attacks. Giroud put a lot of pressure on the new-look Leicester City defence at the start but failed to have an impact as the game progressed.
The Frenchman did have a couple of chances in the first half but largely cut an isolated figure on the night. Leicester City dealt with him very well, which nullified the threat from the Chelsea attacks. Lampard ultimately decided to replace the Giroud with Tammy Abraham in the second half as the Blues went in search for a winner.
#1 Jorginho
Jorginho was stationed in his preferred holding role in the midfield, while N’Golo Kante was afforded a lot more freedom in attack. The Italian started the game well, as Chelsea were very quick off the blocks and took an early lead. However, as Leicester City grew into the game, a glaring gap in the Chelsea midfield was clear.
The Italian is a great passer of the ball but is very poor against a pressing opposition who do not afford him time on the ball. Jorginho struggled to attempt long balls and could not efficiently switch play. As he failed to dictate the game from the deep, the opposition got back into the game. And when Leicester City put pressure on Chelsea in the second half, the Italian’s defensive frailties were exposed.
Jorginho was regularly overrun in the middle and Kante had to do the bulk of the defensive work to ensure Chelsea stayed in the game. The Italian’s lack of speed was also utilized very well by Leicester.
