Antonio Conte made just one change from his side’s last Premier League match, that 2-2 draw with Arsenal back on January 3. The change came at the back, where Antonio Rudiger comes into defence alongside Azpilicueta and Gary Cahill, forcing Andreas Christensen to the bench.
A fortnight since their last Premier League match, Claude Puel made three changes to his side from that New Year’s Day victory over Huddersfield Town. Jamie Vardy made his much-anticipated return from injury, reclaiming his spot atop the lineup, forcing out Islam Slimani. Wes Morgan missed out with a hamstring injury, replaced by Aleksandar Dragovic, while Ben Chilwell also came into defence, at the expense of Christian Fuchs.
Here are the talking points of the match :
- Cahill’s Injury Forced Him To Be Substituted :
A real worry here for Chelsea and Antonio Conte, who has had very few injury woes to worry about of late. Cahill gave chase, trying to keep pace with Vardy, and he pulled up clutching his hamstring. That didn’t look good.
- Missed Chances For Both The Sides :
Somehow it remained goalless at Stamford Bridge, despite a first half filled with attacking quality. Wilfred Ndidi came closest for Leicester, his header miraculously kept out by Thibaut Courtois, while Cesc Fabregas came closest for Chelsea.
- Hazard Was Taken Off Before 60 Minutes :
Double change for Chelsea, which also looked like it would prompt a change in formation. Pedro came on to replace Hazard with one of the changes. Willian was also brought on at the expense of Fabregas.
- Leicester City Down To 10 Men :
Leicester City had been the better side throughout, had nothing to show for it, and now found themselves a man down for the final 20 minutes. Chilwell caught Moses, whom he didn’t see coming, and there was no hesitation from Mike Jones who showed the full-back his second yellow. That decision was a bit harsh on Chilwell, who had been excellent this afternoon, and it was definitely harsh on Leicester. The Foxes had looked sharp all match, and based on what we had seen would figure to be the likelier side to break this deadlock, but they were up against it.
5.No Urgency Shown By Chelsea Players After Leicester Gone To 10 Men :
Chelsea had done little to capitalize on their numerical advantage. The Foxes had looked rather assured in defence, despite being down to 10 men, and they had managed to spend a bit of time in possession as well. Since losing to Man City in September, Chelsea have won each of their last seven home Premier League games, shipping just three goals and keeping five clean sheets in that time.
Where was the urgency from Chelsea? They had been second-best all afternoon, but with Leicester down to 10 men the match was certainly there for the taking. That being said, they seemed reluctant, or might be just uninterested, in pushing on and chasing the winner. Why? Who knows.
6.Valuable One Away Point For Leicester City :
As far as the goalless draw goes, it was highly entertaining, but it wouldn’t cut it for Chelsea as the full-time whistle was greeted by a chorus of boos following the third goalless draw in eight days for Antonio Conte’s men. Opportunity knocked for the Blues following Ben Chilwell’s sending off in the 68th minute, but they created precious little in the end compared to that of Leicester, as they were lucky to walk away with a point.
It was yet another draw in the top flight of English football and the Blues can’t just seem to bring the consistency into their game. It will be interesting to see whether they finish in the top four or not, with the competition being quite stiff, as always.
