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Chelsea cemented their place at the summit of the Premier League table with a comfortable 2-0 win over Leicester City on Saturday. The Blues were deserved winners at the end of what proved to be a clinical performance at the King Power Stadium.
Despite the absence of key first-team stars like Romelu Lukaku and Mateo Kovacic, Thomas Tuchel's men looked settled from the get-go. The visitors made their intentions clear early on as Ben Chilwell saw his effort clip off the bar and go out of play.
Chelsea eventually edged ahead in the 14th minute when Antonio Rudiger broke the deadlock from a corner-kick routine. The German defender, who has yet to agree a new contract with Chelsea, peeled away from Kasper Schmeichel before guiding his header into the far corner.
As soon as the ball crashed into the back of the net, the traveling supporters broke into a delirium of noise. Perhaps it was also a reminder of how badly they want Rudiger to be at Chelsea beyond the end of the season.
Chelsea came close to adding to their lead but Schmeichel made a good block to deny N'Golo Kante before Mason Mount blasted a free-kick just over the cross-bar. Leicester responded and hit the back of the net through Ademola Lookman, but the forward was flagged for offside. Replays suggested he was just drifting behind the last man as Marc Albrighton whipped the ball into the area from the right.
The Foxes were soon handed another blow as Kante doubled Chelsea's lead. After some neat play by Reece James, Kante wrapped his left foot around the ball from the edge of the area to beat Schmeichel in goal for Leicester. Chelsea cruised to half-time without any trouble.
Although they were flat and uninspiring for the majority of the first half, Leicester did return for the second forty-five with a reinvented vigor. The hosts were desperate to force the initiative and it was evident from how they introduced both James Maddison and Kelechi Iheanacho.
Chelsea add killer blow after seeing off mini Leicester resurgence
Leicester's best attempt came just after the hour mark as Daniel Amartey fired a thunderous shit from distance for Edouard Mendy to tip over the bar. Jamie Vardy also nodded a header above from just six-yards after a good cross from Maddison.
Chelsea then put the result beyond any doubt in the 71st minute as substitutes Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic combined for the latter to make it 3-0.
The visitors also had three goals ruled out for offside after establishing a three-goal lead, a perfect indicator of their dominance. In the wake of what proved to be an excellent win for Chelsea, reactions poured in on Twitter. Here are some of the best of the lot, as the Blues registered their ninth win and moved to 29 points in 12 games:
