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Chelsea visited the King Power Stadium on Saturday knowing very well that they needed a win to lift the mood at the club. The Blues were coming into the game on the back of a 2-1 win over Hull City in the FA Cup last weekend, even though Frank Lampard’s wards were stretched by the Championship side on the day.
Against Leicester City, the Englishman was looking to get back to winning ways in the Premier League after two disappointing results on the trot. Chelsea lost to Newcastle United and drew against Arsenal in their last 2 games in the league, but were still 6 points clear in 4th place.
The Blues had ended the January transfer window without making any reinforcements and Lampard had rued the chance to strengthen the squad in the build up to the business end of the season. The Englishman was aware that the battle for the 4th and final Champions League place was just warming up. As such, Chelsea needed all 3 points against Leicester City, but it was not going to be easy.
The Foxes have been playing exceptional football under Brendan Rodgers this season, but had endured a disappointing loss at the hands of Aston Villa in midweek in the Carabao Cup. It denied Rodgers a chance at winning his first Silverware for the club, and Leicester City were desperate to bounce back against Chelsea. As such, Saturday set up a fascinating battle between 3rd and 4th in the Premier League, two teams separated by 8 points but both eager for victory.
Chelsea started the game well but failed to find a breakthrough. The first half ended 0-0 and the visitors took the lead early in the second half through Antonio Rudiger. However, the hosts drew level through Harvey Barnes 8 minutes later. Ben Chilwell then put Leicester City ahead in the 64th minute, only for Rudiger to score his second of the game 7 minutes later. The game ultimately ended in a 2-2 draw.
For Lampard, it was another disappointing result and here are 3 reasons why the Blues drew the game.
#3 Leicester City missed easy chances in the dying minutes of the game
Chelsea would have ended the game without any points in the bag had Leicester City not wasted easy chances in the dying minutes of the game. First, Jonny Evans got free of his marker and sent a thumping header wide of the post.
It was an unbelievable miss that would have justified Leicester City’s growing dominance in the game. Next, Barnes had the opportunity to secure all 3 points for his team, but the Englishman missed an easy chance after he was gloriously set up by Jamie Vardy.
#2 Chelsea's failure to build on their first-half performance
Chelsea started the game very well and were already knocking at the door in the 18th minute when Reece James almost found Tammy Abraham in the far corner. That started a period of Chelsea dominance that pegged Leicester City back, who resorted to hitting the visitors on the break. However, the Blues stayed alert at the back, while also growing in confidence in the final third of the pitch.
The visitors had chances to score right until the end of the first half and took the lead immediately after the break, thanks to Rudiger’s towering header. It should have sparked off another half of Chelsea dominance, but sadly, the Blues failed to build on their performance. Lampard’s wards allowed the hosts to get a grip on the game and Leicester City didn’t just equalize, but even took the lead.
Thankfully for the Blues, Rudiger scored again to salvage a draw for his side. Chelsea ended the second half as the underdogs and were lucky to come away with a point.
This was the 6th time this season that the Blues had gone ahead in a game, but had failed to win; 5 of those games ended in a draw.
#1 Chelsea's under-performing frontline
Tammy Abraham had been the talk of the town in the first half of the season. However, the teenager has been struggling for goals in recent times. Abraham had scored just 4 times in 11 games ahead of the match against Leicester City and Lampard desperately needed his prized asset to step up against the Foxes. Sadly, that was not to be. Lampard set up a front four of Abraham, Pedro, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Mason Mount, but they failed to click on the day.
The Englishman missed a host of chances in the game and was one of the poorest players on the pitch. Abraham did not register a single shot in the game and was dispossessed 4 times, the highest in the game. Pedro and Hudson-Odoi did not fare any better either, while Mount did set up both goals.
However, it was the collective failure of the Chelsea front-line that will be a cause of concern for Lampard, who lamented Chelsea’s lack of activity in the transfer window earlier. If the game against Leicester City was any indication, that decision could yet come back to haunt the Blues.
