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Chelsea faced Leicester City on Sunday at Stamford Bridge as the Blues looked to get their first win under new manager Frank Lampard but were held to a 1-1 draw. For Chelsea, the goal was scored by Mason Mount. For the away side, the only goal was scored by Wilfred Ndidi.
In the first half of the game, Chelsea started stronger as the Blues took an early lead, thanks to a goal from young midfielder Mount. After the opening goal, Leicester City settled into the game and started having more of the ball.
The away side were knocking on Chelsea's door as the first half ended. In the second half of the match, the Foxes dominated the game in the midfield area and pressed with more intensity. They eventually scored an equalizer, thanks to a bullet header from Ndidi.
The last fifteen minutes of the game were very open and the away side got many opportunities to kill the game, but they didn't take any of their chances and the match ended all square. In this piece, we are going to take a look at the five talking points from the game.
#5 Mason Mount stars for the Blues
England U-21 international Mason Mount put in a Man of the Match performance for the Blues. Mount was brilliant on the day as he played in his preferred number 10 position. The young Englishman was involved in almost every attacking move for the Blues and he scored the opening goal on the day.
It was his effective pressing that was the highlight of that goal as he won the ball off Ndidi just in front of the box and put it past Kasper Schmeichel.
Mount displayed his quality against Leicester and if he can be consistent enough, Chelsea and Frank Lampard will have a brilliant player on their hands.
Also See : Epl table, Epl fixtures, Epl results
#4 James Maddison was Leicester City's best player on the day
At the start of the game, Leicester City struggled to deal with Chelsea's off the ball pressure and like every other Leicester player, James Maddison struggled to have any real impact on the game.
But after Chelsea scored the opening goal, they allowed the away side to settle into the game and that got Maddison involved a little bit more. He then started picking out some delightful passes for those typical Jamie Vardy runs, although nothing substantial came from it.
Maddison was highly influential for the Foxes in the second period as he assisted the equalizer for Leicester and missed a huge chance to give his side the lead. All in all, it was a terrific performance from the Englishman.
#3 Chelsea weren't clinical enough in the first half
In the first half, Chelsea created a lot of clear cut opportunities as the away side was struggling to deal with the Blues' pressing from the front. Before opening the scoring, Pedro had a great chance but the Spaniard saw his volley strike the side netting.
Then, Mason Mount had a huge opportunity but his shot was saved by Schmeichel and that ball fell nicely for Christian Pulisic but the American's shot was saved again by the Leicester goalkeeper.
After opening the scoring through Mount, N'Golo Kante had a big opportunity to double his side's advantage but the Frenchman couldn't find the back of the net as Christian Fuchs' last-ditch lunge saw Kante's shot go wide of a near-open goal. If the Blues would have been more clinical in the first half, the scoreline would have told a different story.
#2 Jorginho had a game to forget for the Blues
Arguably Chelsea's worst performer on the day was Italian midfielder Jorginho. At the start of the game, he was very good as Chelsea started stronger but after Leicester City grew into the game, the Italian got exposed.
He played alongside N'Golo Kante in a midfield two in a 4-2-3-1 formation. The Italian struggled to dictate the pace of the game, especially in the second half when Leicester started pressing Chelsea more.
Jorginho wasn't getting enough time on the ball and he was being constantly overrun by the away side's midfield. This meant Kante had to do a lot of covering and defensive work. The Italian was later substituted for Matteo Kovacic.
#1 Leicester City need to be more ruthless if they are to break into the top 6
Brendan Rodgers would be clearly aiming for a top 6 finish this season as this Leicester side has a lot of quality. Today, they had huge chances in the second half to kill the game, but the away side didn't take any of them.
First, it was Maddison who found himself one on one with Chelsea's goalkeeper and blazed his shot over the bar. Next, it was Jamie Vardy who also found himself in a very good position in front of the Chelsea goal and dragged his shot wide.
Then, Youri Tielemans had the hardest chance of them all as he struck his shot from the edge of the box straight at Kepa Arrizabalaga. Rodgers would have wanted his side to be more clinical as the match was there for the taking. If the Foxes are to break into the top 6 this season, they will have to be more clinical.
