MX23RW : Tuesday, March 19 09:30:23| >> :120:26178:26178:
[monks data]
Attendance: 40,629
Chelsea logo
Premier League | Gameweek 2
Aug 18, 2019 at 4.30pm UK
 
Leicester logo

1-1

Mount (7')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Ndidi (67')

Live Commentary: Chelsea 1-1 Leicester City - as it happened

Relive Sports Mole's live coverage as Chelsea hold on for a 1-1 draw against Leicester City in Sunday's Premier League fixture at Stamford Bridge.
2

Frank Lampard has remained winless as Chelsea manager after watching his side record a 1-1 draw against Leicester City in Sunday's Premier League fixture at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues started quickly, taking the lead as early as the seventh minute through Mason Mount, but Leicester had the better of the action during the remainder of the contest.

However, despite finding an equaliser through Wilfred Ndidi and dominating for large parts of the closing stages, the Foxes had to make do with a share of the spoils.

Find out how all of the action unfolded in West London courtesy of Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below.


Sort:
Newest
Oldest
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the match in the Premier League between Chelsea and Leicester City. Having failed to get the better of Manchester United and Liverpool over the past seven days, Frank Lampard goes into his first home fixture as boss of Chelsea under pressure to deliver a win. However, the Blues may find themselves up against it as a result of Brendan Rodgers putting together a strong squad at the King Power Stadium.

As the two sets of players make their way out onto the pitch in West London, let's see who features in each starting lineup...


CHELSEA XI: Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Zouma, Palmieri; Mount, Jorginho, Kante; Pedro, Giroud, Pulisic

CHELSEA SUBSTITUTES: Caballero, Alonso, Tomori, Kovacic, Barkley, Willian, Abraham


LEICESTER CITY XI: Schmeichel; Pereira, Evans, Soyuncu, Fuchs; Choudhury, Ndidi, Tielemans; Perez, Maddison, Vardy

LEICESTER CITY SUBSTITUTES: Ward, Justin, Morgan, Praet, Albrighton, Barnes, Iheanacho


KICKOFF:  Chelsea get us underway!

CHANCE!  Almost the perfect start for Chelsea! A cross from the right is chested down by Giroud into the path of Pedro, who fires a volley into the side-netting from around 14 yards out.

CHANCE!  Yet another chance for Chelsea, this time for Mount. The ball fell invitingly for the academy graduate around 18 yards from goal, but his scuffed effort was parried by Schmeichel. The Blues almost scored from the resulting corner, too. Leicester are all over the place at the back.

This game is being played at 100mph. That suits Chelsea for now, but Leicester may be content to allow the Blues to play at such a pace, with the closing stages in mind.

GOAL!  CHELSEA 1-0 LEICESTER CITY (MASON MOUNT)

Chelsea's Mason Mount celebrates scoring their first goal against Leicester on August 18, 2019© Reuters


GOAL!  While Chelsea are playing at pace, Leicester want far too much time to use the ball and inevitably get caught out. Ndidi is dispossessed by Mount on the edge of the area, leaving the youngster one-on-one with Schmeichel. The academy graduate keeps his composure to find the bottom corner from 14 yards out, and you can see the joy in his face. That's his first Blues goal!

Lampard will want to see focus from his defence in these circumstances. They have been criticised for various reasons after their showings against Manchester United and Liverpool, but now they must show that they can stay switched on with an early lead.

Chelsea are pressing at every given opportunity, and there are signs that Leicester are beginning to find ways to exploit that. Maddison just broke clear of Kante before attempting a through-ball to Vardy, but a defender got across to make the tackle.

Tielemans goes down clutching his leg after committing a foul on Palmieri. While he may have been injured, it appeared to be exaggerated in order to avoid a yellow card. It worked.

The pace of the game has slowed down now. It would have taken a super-human effort for Chelsea to play at their previous speed for a prolonged period of time!

Leicester are also seeing much more of the ball. Pereira has just got himself forward into a central area before attempting to pick out Vardy, but the two players found themselves too close to each other to pull off the pass.

To a certain extent, this has developed into an end-to-end game. That said, there has been a lack of an end product over the past 10 minutes, which will disappoint both managers.

CHANCE!  Mount should probably have his second. Azpilicueta's pass from the right finds the midfielder just in front of the penalty spot, but the youngster's precise header goes straight at Schmeichel.

Leicester have just managed to win a corner, but it came to nothing. With Chelsea not being the biggest of sides, the Foxes need to make the most of those kind of openings.

Chelsea earn a set piece of their own on the left flank, but Mount's inswinging delivery is comfortably cleared by the Leicester backline.

CHANCE!  So close to a second for Chelsea. A low cross from the left was flicked on by Giroud, but Kante was prevented from converting from six yards out after a stunning block by Fuchs.

Chelsea have improved over the last few minutes. Leicester had started to get back into the contest, but they are now having to work hard to avoid conceding a second.

The visitors win a free kick down the right after a foul from Pedro, but Palmieri is able to head the ball away from the set piece.

What was Arrizabalaga thinking? The Spaniard seems in two minds on the edge of his six-yard box, leading to Vardy to close him down. However, the goalkeeper just about salvages the situation by keeping the pressure on the Englishman.

While Chelsea survived a couple of minutes, it has only resulted in Leicester getting themselves on top. Chelsea are being penned back in their own defensive third.

Chelsea are having to work really hard to keep hold of the ball. Leicester have stepped up the pitch, resulting in more congestion in the Blues half.

YELLOW CARD!  Jorginho deservedly goes into the book for a late challenge on Pereira. The Italian's studs went down on the right-back's boot, meaning that he is probably fortunate to avoid a red.

Just the six minutes to go until half time now. Aside from the opening 10 minutes, Leicester have matched Chelsea in every department.

You'd have to say that the Foxes are ending the first half on top as well. Their defensive work has been really smart, especially in the middle third of the pitch.

Leicester try to catch Chelsea out with a long ball and it requires Arrizabalaga to come out to head the ball away from goal.

There will be one minute of added-on time.

SHOT!  A misplaced back-pass from Pereira eventually leads to Chelsea winning a corner. However, nothing comes from it, with Jorginho sending a speculative volley well off target.

HALF TIME:  Chelsea 1-0 Leicester City

The half-time whistle goes at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea have held on to a 1-0 lead, given to them by Mount during the early stages of the game. There had been signs that Chelsea could overpower the Foxes but to their credit, the visitors have nullified their hosts for the remainder of the first half.

While Chelsea were completely dominant during the first 10 minutes, they were gifted their opener by Ndidi. The Leicester man took too much time on the ball around 25 yards from goal, which resulted in Mount having the chance to shoot from the edge of the area. Two Foxes players were closing on him, but the academy graduate held his nerve to drill a shot into the far bottom corner for his first Chelsea goal.

RESULT! There has already been one Premier League game played today, and it saw Sheffield United battle their way to a 1-0 success over Crystal Palace. Click here to read a summary of that fixture.

A quick reminder of the two benches...

CHELSEA SUBSTITUTES: Caballero, Alonso, Tomori, Kovacic, Barkley, Willian, Abraham

LEICESTER CITY SUBSTITUTES: Ward, Justin, Morgan, Praet, Albrighton, Barnes, Iheanacho


KICKOFF:  Leicester get us back underway.

The visitors are already putting Chelsea under pressure at the start of this second half. Already, you get the feeling that Christensen and Zouma are going to be busy.

There is somewhat of a subdued atmosphere in Stamford Bridge right now. It reflects how well Leicester have done to stay in this game, and are getting closer to finding an equaliser. Maddison gets in behind the Blues defence and rounds Arrizabalaga. However, the playmaker cannot find a teammate after being forced wide.

It is worth noting that Chelsea's fitness levels may not be at their highest this afternoon having played extra time against Liverpool in the UEFA Super Cup final on Wednesday night. It has to be said, they look a bit flat, so don't be surprised to see some changes sooner rather than later.

SHOT!  Much better from the Blues as Pedro delivers a cross from the left for Giroud, but the Frenchman cannot get enough pace on his header, which goes straight at Schmeichel.

Chelsea are unhappy that Leicester do not kick the ball out due to an injury to Pedro, but the winger is not involved in the passage of play whatsoever. The Foxes then win a corner, much to the frustration of the home supporters.

SHOT!  Leicester look to take advantage of having a man advantage, but Arrizabalaga is able to make a relatively comfortable save from Choudhury's long-range effort. Pedro is now back on the pitch.

Maddison is all over Azpilicueta down the left flank. The Englishman twists and turns his way past the right-back before fizzing a pass across the box, which evades everyone.

SHOT!  The pressure continues, with Christensen doing well to concede a corner. From the resulting set piece, the ball is half-cleared to Tielemans, who sends a shot from distance well off target.

SUBSTITUTION! Lampard makes his first alteration, introducing Abraham for Giroud.

Nothing comes from a Chelsea set piece, and Leicester break in numbers. Perez attempts to find Vardy with the final pass, but Arrizabalaga just about beats the forward to the ball.

GOAL!  CHELSEA 1-1 LEICESTER CITY (WILFRED NDIDI)

GOAL!  It had been coming, although maybe not in this fashion. Maddison swings a corner in from the right, and Ndidi gets inbetween Zouma and Azpilicueta to power a header into the corner from 10 yards out. Talk about redeeming yourself!

This is another test of character for Chelsea. If anyone is going to find a winner, you would back Leicester, and it shouldn't feel like that when the game is being played at Stamford Bridge.

SUBSTITUTIONS! Chelsea make two more changes, with Kovacic and Willian replacing Jorginho and Pulisic.

SUBSTITUTION! Leicester make their first alteration as Praet comes on for Choudhury.

CHANCE!  Leicester should be ahead. Good work from Fuchs leads to a chance for Maddison inside the area. The midfielder has options either side but decides to go it alone, blazing a shot over from no more than eight yards out.

If it was offered to him, Lampard would no doubt take a point at this stage. Chelsea are having better moments going forward, but they are comfortably second best here.

CHANCE!  Yet another chance for Leicester. Maddison plays in Vardy and the forward is able to move inwards towards goal. It's still an acute angle, however, with a low shot going wide of the far post.

Azpilicueta is still showing a willingness to bomb forward, but it leaves Maddison all on his own by the halfway line if a move breaks down. The Spaniard needs to show more discipline, especially at this stage of the contest.

Azpilicueta is still showing a willingness to bomb forward, but it leaves Maddison all on his own by the halfway line if a move breaks down. The Spaniard needs to show more discipline, especially at this stage of the contest.

SUBSTITUTION! Leicester make a second switch as Albrighton comes on for Perez.

This feels like a big eight minutes for Chelsea. If they can hold on, it would represent some sort of moral victory. However, if they go on to lose this contest, more questions will be asked of Lampard and his side.

The home team are trying their best to apply some pressure, but they simply cannot sustain it. That is encouraging Leicester to leave a couple of players in the final third ready for the counter-attack.

A Mount shot is deflected behind for a corner, but the set piece from Willian doesn't beat the first man. A story of Chelsea's performance from the 10th minute onwards...

While there is just two minutes to go, you get the sense that something dramatic is still going to happen in this game. There is a lot of space in the middle of the pitch.

CHANCE!  Big chance for Leicester as Maddison picks out Tielemans who is waiting around 16 yards from goal. The Belgian takes it on first time, only for Arrizabalaga to punch his effort away.

There will be four minutes of added-on time.

SHOT!  Abraham finds some space around 35 yards from goal, and he only has one idea on his mind. The striker moves closer to goal, but then slices a shot towards the corner flag.

Chelsea are clinging on here. Leicester look so much sharper and fitter. The Blues are misplacing every third pass, most of them relatively simple ones as well.

FULL TIME:  Chelsea 1-1 Leicester City

The full-time whistle goes at Stamford Bridge and we have somehow ended at 1-1. Chelsea deservedly led during the opening stages, but Leicester were the best team from the 10th minute onwards. Rodgers will wonder how the Foxes have only claimed a share of the spoils having outfought and outperformed Chelsea for large parts of the contest.

That result sees Chelsea move into 15th position in the table, with Lampard gaining his first point as Blues boss. As for Leicester, they now sit in 12th spot after a second successive draw.

That will be all from Sports Mole for this match. Thank you for joining us this afternoon, and we hope to see you again soon.

If you would like to read our on-the-whistle match report, you can do so by clicking here. Goodbye for now.


ID:367870: cacheID:367870:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:27201:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante scores the opening goal in his side's EFL Cup semi-final second leg with Tottenham Hotspur on January 24, 2019
Read Next:
How Chelsea could line up against Leicester
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014

Subscribe to our newsletter


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!