Chelsea Player Ratings vs Leicester
Leicester returned to the top of the Premier League table with a 2-1 win over Chelsea at the King Power Stadium to pile more pressure onto boss Jose Mourinho. Both sides suffered early setbacks as Danny Drinkwater and Eden Hazard were withdrawn with injuries after 17 and 31 minutes respectively.
The Foxes opened the scoring shortly after the half-hour mark as the league’s top scorer Jamie Vardy netted in his sixth consecutive home game. Chelsea, who hadn’t been at the races at all in the first half, conceded a second shortly after the restart as Riyad Mahrez turned Cesar Azpilicueta inside out to double their lead with a curling effort. The Blues grew into the game after going 2-0 down and were rewarded for their efforts as Loic Remy scored with 13 minutes left, but it proved too little, too late.
Below are the Player ratings of Chelsea Players for the match –
Thibaut Courtois (5/10)
Had little chance with either of Leicester’s goals but had one or two nervous moments when the ball was crossed into his penalty area.
Branislav Ivanovic (5/10)
Struggled at times to deal with the pace and direct wing-play of Albrighton and offered little to Chelsea as an attacking force.
Kurt Zouma (5/10)
Looked solid and composed in possession but was caught napping at a crucial moment as Vardy crept in for the opening goal.
John Terry (4/10)
Looked flat-footed for the opening goal and troubled throughout by Vardy’s pace. Replaced after less than an hour.
Cesar Azpilicueta (4/10)
Found Mahrez difficult to handle when he was isolated one-on-one and was exposed by the Algerian’s skill for the second goal.
Nemanja Matic (6/10)
The pick of Chelsea’s central midfielders but even he had only a limited impact despite using his height and power to decent effect at times.
Ramires (5/10)
Unable to exert any real influence on the game in the heart of midfield as Leicester’s movement proved too much to handle.
Willian (7/10)
His energy and willingness to run and stretch Leicester made him the biggest threat for Chelsea, but his final delivery was hit and miss.
Oscar (5/10)
The talented Brazilian showed some clever movement, but he was too often overpowered and consequently had little real impact for his side.
Eden Hazard (5/10)
Hobbled off injured after just 31mins. being challenged by Vardy.
Diego Costa (5/10)
Looked enthusiastic early on but he soon faded after losing a couple of duels with Morgan and never looked a major goal threat.
Substitute:
Pedro Rodriguez (6/10)
Was largely anonymous after replacing Hazard at 31st minute but came to life near the end, resulting in him setting up his side’s only goal with a lovely cross from the left flank.
Cesc Fabregas (6/10)
Initially made a big impact after replacing Terry at the 53rd minute but saw his influence fade, resulting in him looking largely lethargic towards the end.
Loic Remy (7/10)
Came on for Oscar at the 65th minute and was a constant threat in the final third. Hurried the under-pressure Leicester defence and did well to latch onto Pedro’s cross to head Chelsea back into the game.
Match Highlights
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