The sound of Chelsea fans singing ‘Antonio’ greeted the Italian manager as Andre Marriner blew the final whistle in the match between Leicester City and Chelsea. Amid fears of the fixture being postponed due to weather conditions and problems at the Chelsea camp, the two former champions kicked off their game on Saturday night – the home side trying to maintain a safe distance from the drop zone and the league leaders trying to maintain their advantage at the top.
The Blues travelled to the Midlands sans Diego Costa while Michy Batshuayi was ignored for the starting line-up yet again. Conte’s men quickly took hold of the game and dominated the current champions for most of the 90 minutes.
The first two goals of the game came from an unlikely source as Marcos Alonso scored a few minutes into both the first and second halves. The depleted Leicester hardly seemed a match for Conte’s men as they were without the services of Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani.
Pedro scored the third goal to seal the victory after setting it up with a beautiful touch. In the aftermath of a match that invited plenty of unexpected speculation, here are the five major talking points:
#1 No Costa, no problem
One day before Chelsea’s trip to the King Power Stadium, news of a bust-up between Diego Costa and the medical staff at the Chelsea grounds broke. What was initially explained as a disagreement between the two about an injury the Spaniard had suffered was later revealed to run much deeper.
Media reports claim Costa also clashed with Conte over a £30 million-a-year contract he had been offered by a Chinese club. Irrespective of the real reason, Costa was left out of the squad which included Nathan Ake who has recently been recalled from his loan at Bournemouth.
With no Costa, who is both Chelsea’s and the league’s top goalscorer with 14 goals, Conte deployed Eden Hazard as the centre forward with Batshuayi remaining on the bench despite his impressive performance in their FA Cup fixture last weekend.
Willian and Pedro made up the wings as the rest of the side remained unchanged. In spite of the 28-year-old’s absence, the waves of attack from the Blues were potent. Alonso proved the unlikely hero as he scored the first two goals and Pedro finished off with the third.
If the reports of the problems at Chelsea are to be believed then the club just sent a very powerful message through their performance at the King Power.
#2 Return of the Tinkerman
Back when Chelsea had just become flush with cash, Claudio Ranieri was entrusted with transforming the club into a team of champions. Even though he came quite close, he never quite made it thanks to his tendency to tinker with his side week after week. So, it was quite the shock when the Italian led Leicester to the league trophy with a consistent and well-oiled squad last season.
However, it seemed like a blast from the past when Ranieri changed his side around from their signature 4-4-2 to a 3-5-2 to combat Conte’s successful system. After all, Tottenham had just pulled off that same tactic to great effect just a couple of weeks ago when they ended the Blues’ 13-game unbeaten run.
Ranieri’s plan failed as Leicester were very static while defending. Wes Morgan seemed clueless about his role and Marc Albrighton had to make up for his teammate's shortcomings. As the two on the left struggled, Alonso and Pedro had a ball as they found spaces in behind the defence. By the end of the night, all three of Chelsea’s goals came from that end.
#3 Chelsea’s attacking trio
With no Costa, Conte left it up to Willian, Pedro and Hazard to find the goals for his side as they tried to stay on track as league leaders. The three midfielders rose to the challenge quite well as they were involved in all three goals in some manner or the other.
Even though Hazard had been deployed as the central attacker the three kept switching positions making them hard to track for the Leicester defenders. Twisting their way around the opposition, all three men were dangerous offensively.
Chelsea’s first goal was a result of Hazard’s foresight as he received the ball in front of goal with his back to it. Instead of wasting the chance by taking a shot off balance, he passed the ball to Alonso who scored with his weaker right foot. The final goal of the night was a moment of brilliant link-up play between Willian and Pedro. The Spanish midfielder passed the ball to the Brazilian with a brilliant flourish who returned it promptly for Pedro to score the third.
Watching the three players combine and interchange positions was reminiscent of what Oscar, Hazard and Willian were able to do for the club in 2014-15 when they won the title under Jose Mourinho and they will be hoping history will repeat itself.
#4 Marc Albrighton shows fight
Leicester City are no longer the same charismatic side from last season. And in the absence of Mahrez and Slimani, they were at an even greater disadvantage as they prepared to host Chelsea. Playing in a different formation, the champions looked uncomfortable in their own home as they struggled to keep up with their superior opponents. However, their embarrassing performance had one redeeming aspect and that was Marc Albrighton.
The midfielder filled the unfamiliar shoes of a wing back quite remarkably as he did well to contain Alonso’s forward runs on many occasions. With no help forthcoming from Morgan, Albrighton had his work cut out for him but the former Aston Villa player did not disappoint. He restricted the amount of space Alonso had to work with and was one of their better players going forward as well.
Most of Leicester's attacks originated from him as he delivered some balls that managed to beat the Chelsea defenders. His influence on the side became more apparent as he tired and had to be taken off. His substitution forced Ranieri to go back to a 4-4-2 which made Leicester look more disoriented. With Albrighton gone, they looked vulnerable and were fortunate to not concede further.
#5 Leicester’s fairy tale all but over
The man who orchestrated Leicester City’s climb to the top still finds it hard to believe what they pulled off. The most unlikely champions, the odds of the Foxes winning last season was pegged to be 5000 to 1. Despite such odds, they did the impossible and marched their way to the title with just three defeats all season.
This year, it is quite a different tale. The Midlands side have already lost six games this time around while winning only five and sit five points above the drop zone.
Chelsea set an unwanted record when they failed to defend their title and mounted the worst defence of the Premier League era. With Leicester’s current run of form, they look on track to save the London side the embarrassment of holding on to that record.
If the Foxes don’t turn things around for themselves they face further risk of dropping down. They could also be the first team since the 1930s to be relegated in the season immediately following their league victory.
