Jacob Steinberg has filed his report from the Bridge, so I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for your company, emails and abuse - night!
Chelsea now have two shots at a Champions League place next year - one against Aston Villa on Sunday, the other against Manchester City in Porto. Leicester need a favour from Villa or Liverpool’s remaining opponents, Burnley and Crystal Palace. And they have to beat Spurs at home.
The final whistle is greeted with a huge roar by the 8,000 Chelsea fans. Leicester can have no complaints - they didn’t start playing until Kelechi Iheanacho came off the pitch, and by that stage they were lucky to be only 2-0 down. Chelsea were superb with and without the ball: they outclassed Leicester and also bullied them, with Mason Mount and Antonio Rudiger the outstanding players.
Full time: Chelsea 2-1 Leicester
Peeeeeep peeeeeeep! Chelsea move into third place after a crucial and richly deserved victory.
90+8 min We’re still playing because of the added time for the touchline rumble, but Chelsea have a goalkick and that should be it.
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90+5 min Ricardo and Mendy were also booked, it says here.
90+5 min Leicester’s substitute Daniel Amartey has been booked. I think he’s the only one. On reflection, Ricardo’s tackle wasn’t particularly bad, but Rudiger shoved him and then everyone got involved.
90+3 min: ITS KICKING OFF! It’s all happening now, with at least 15 players and both benches involved. It was sparked by a poor challenge on Chilwell by Richrdo, and soon ascended into an impromptu scrum near the touchline. I don’t think any punches were thrown, and after about 30 seconds it starts to disperse.
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92 min “Of course Mike Dein has to get involved in how a player walks off the pitch,” says Mary Waltz. “What a twit!”
I’ll forgive the misspelling.
91 min Five minutes of added time. Olivier Giroud comes on to replace the hapless yet peculiarly admirable Timo Werner.
90 min: Perez misses a great chance! Leicester should be level. Ricardo broke down the right and fizzed a cross into the area. Vardy slipped but that allowed Perez to run onto the ball, 15 yards out, and strike it first time. He blootered it into orbit. I’d love to hear James Maddison’s internal monologue right now.
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90 min Leicester haven’t been able to put Chelsea under any sustained pressure, or any occasional pressure for that matter. It’s now or never (or Sunday).
88 min Ndidi is booked for a late tackle on Mount. A foul had already been given to Leicester for Mount’s challenge on Tielemans, but Mike Dean’s yellow card never sleeps.
87 min Kurt Zouma comes on for Chelsea to replace Cesar Azpilicueta, who was nobbled by Soyuncu. Azpilicueta is booked for ignoring Mike Dean’s orders to leave the field on the near side.
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85 min Pulisic wins a corner for Chelsea, who still look relatively comfortable in the circumstances. James’ corner is booted clear.
83 min Iheanacho has been by far Leicester’s liveliest attacker, which is either a validation or an indictment of Brendan Rodgers’ decision to leave him on the bench.
82 min Fofana is booked for a foul on the irrepressible Werner.
82 min “I can’t keep up any longer with what is meant to mean more,” weeps Ian Copestake.
81 min Iheanacho shoots from 30 yards, an optimistic effort that is comfortably held by the crouching Mendy.
80 min For the first time tonight, there’s a nervous hum around Stamford Bridge. It will be an extraordinary steal if Leicester get a point here.
79 min Werner makes a mess of an overhead kick, slicing it well wide.
The goal is a mess from Chelsea’s point of view. Mendy gave the goalkick to James, who played it into Kovacic 25 yards from goal. He was muscled off the ball by Ndidi, who quickly gave it to the unmarked Iheanacho in the area. This time he finished emphatically with a low drive into the corner.
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GOAL! Chelsea 2-1 Leicester (Iheanacho 76)
Now then!
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76 min Iheanacho picks up a loose ball in the D, turns and drags a low shot just wide of the far post. It wasn’t a clean strike, though, and Mendy had it covered.
75 min Leicester have got nothing left. A week ago, I suspect they would have preferred to finish fourth than win the FA Cup, but Saturday was so euphoric and soul-stirring that I honestly think it will mean more - probably now, and certainly in 10 years’ time. They’ll still be devastated to do a Devon Loch for the second successive season, though. If they do fail to reach the Champions League, it will be that absurd game against Newcastle wot dunnit.
71 min One important point on Werner - he may have been a banter victim all season, but he never hides. He’s always on the move, always wants the ball, and that attitude ultimately led to the second goal.
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68 min If it stays 2-0, we can probably discount goal difference being a factor in the race for fourth. So that means Leicester would need a favour from somewhere. And let’s be honest, it would be unutterably hilarious if Roy Hodgson’s last act in football was to deny Liverpool a Champions League place. I can’t see it though.
68 min Another change for Leicester: Ricardo is on for Albrighton at right wing-back.
GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Leicester (Jorginho 67 pen)
Jorginho rolls it slowly to his right, wrongfooting Schmeichel, and Chelsea are heading into third place!
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That was a daft tackle from the usually superb Fofana. Jorginho will take the penalty.
PENALTY TO CHELSEA!
Chelsea heart VAR.
65 min: VAR CHECK FOR A CHELSEA PENALTY
Fofana is penalised for fouling Werner just outside the area on the left - but I think this is inside the area. This should be a penalty.
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64 min Chelsea break from the corner, with Kovacic cracking a long, straight pass to find Werner one on one with Castagne. He gets into the area and hits a left-footed shot from a tightish angle that is comfortably saved by Schmeichel.
63 min Leicester win a corner after a crunching man-and-ball tackle on Albrighton by Chilwell. Chelsea have been really physical tonight - legimately so, I should stress, at least for the most part. The corner is headed away by Chilwell.
60 min Here comes Kelechi Iheanacho. He replaces the disappointing James Maddison, who barely had a kick, although he was kicked a few times.
60 min Mount is fine by the way.
59 min Rudiger goes on a barnstorming run, including a Zidane-style roulette, before being fouled by Tielemans. The crowd loved that.
58 min Leicester are having a bit more of the ball now, human nature being what it is, but Chelsea are still well in control of the game. They haven’t only outplayed Leicester tonight, they have bullied them as well.
57 min “Hi Rob,” says Ian Copestake. “Mike Dean’s propensity for comedy is explained by his having long ago been replaced by Jasper Carrott.”
56 min Mount puts Perez on the floor again, this time with the help of Rudiger. Again Mike Dean isn’t interested.
55 min Here’s the Premier League table as things stand. In short, if they lose tonight, Leicester need a favour for Burnley and/or Crystal Palace and/or Aston Villa.
54 min Mount flattens Perez 35 yards from goal, a revenge tackle that might have brought a yellow card. Mike Dean isn’t interested. Tielemans’ free-kick is headed away by Thiago Silva.
54 min “To paraphrase a great Tipperary hurler, if Timo Werner had ducks, they’d drown,” says Justin Kavanagh. “Something tells me he’s going to score the winner in the Champions League final, because no-one’s form in front of goal can stay that wretched for that long. Either that, or he’ll miss the plane.”
53 min Mount gets to his feet. He’s moving pretty gingerly but he wants to continue.
52 min Mount is down, and in some pain, after a clash of knees with Perez. It looks like an impact injury, in which case he’ll be fine.
51 min “Thoroughly entertaining evening so far,” says Matt Dony. “Plucky Fulham getting a brilliant point (not that it matters, of course), Brighton screaming to a Pep-Infuriating home win against City (two seasons too late, though), and now Chelsea having goals disallowed left, right and centre. It’s not big or clever, but seeing bad things happen to rival teams is almost as satisfying as seeing your own team do well. My word, football brings out the worst in us.”
50 min It surely won’t be long before we see Kelechi Iheanacho. Leicester have offered nothing in attack, though that has largely been down to Chelsea’s intensity.
GOAL GIVEN! It’s fine, it’s all fine. Chilwell’s corner was flicked on at the near post by the stretching Vardy and shoved over the line with his thigh by Rudiger. If he meant it, that was a really smart finish because he had to react very quickly to Vardy’s inadvertent flick. I’m not sure he did, in truth, not that Chelsea will care.
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GOAL? Chelsea 1-0 Leicester (Rudiger 47)
Thomas slips and concedes a corner on the Chelsea right. Chilwell’s inswinger is forced over the line from close range by Rudiger - but with what?
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47 min “I know there’s an argument that a professional player should let the officials make a decision for themselves,” says Brad McMillan. “But, having seen the Werner handball replay just now, I’m left feeling like he should have been booked for cheating. Or stupidity. He must have known it would be ruled out and that he was wasting everybody’s time.”
Given some of the recent VAR decisions, I’d try my luck as well. Stockley Park could quite easily have recommended a goal for Werner and a red card for four Leicester players.
46 min Peep peep! Leicester begin the second half.
On Sky Sports, Graeme Souness is flabbergasted that Chelsea didn’t get a penalty in the 19th minute. And when it comes to what it and isn’t allowed on a football field, our Graeme knows more than most.
Just hand over the award, now ... #Souness #LFC #Rangers pic.twitter.com/9GmZk5ydRY
— Stewart Weir (@sweirz) September 11, 2020
Half-time pluggery
I won’t be able to make it myself, as it’s Chess Club night in Orkney, but it looks like fun.
Half time: Chelsea 0-0 Leicester
The story is old, I know, but it goes on: Chelsea have done everything but score in a totally one-sided first half. Timo Werner had two goals disallowed, one for offside and one for handball, which went down a storm with the 8,000 fans at Stamford Bridge.
N’Golo Kante also went off injured, though it looked more of a precaution than an OHMYGODHOWCANWEBEATCITYWITHOUTHIM. Leicester defended diligently, sometimes desperately, but did nothing going forward.
In other news, Brighton have come from 2-0 down to beat ten-man Manchester City
45+1 min Two minutes of added time.
45 min A dangerous cross on the turn from Perez drifts across the six-yard box. Vardy was the only player in the middle.
43 min The brilliant Mount nutmegs Soyuncu on the right, hares into the area and fizzes a low cross towards Pulisic at the near post. His instinctive flick from four yards hits the outstretched leg of Schmeichel and goes behind. That’s a terrific save. It’s also Chelsea’s 11th attempt at goal to Leicester’s one.
41 min On reflection, I’m not sure Leicester have been deliberately defensive; I just think they’ve been forced back by a rabid Chelsea. There’s probably a bit of subconscious caution as well, as they know a draw keeps things in their own hands.
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40 min “Any sign of a Leicester hangover?” says Niall Mullen. “Have they turned up with a bottle of Lucozade, a packet of mints, and one eye on where the nearest bog is?”
It’s worse than that. I’m pretty sure I’ve just seen Jamie Vardy wolfing down a grab bag of Flamin Hot Monster Munch.
39 min Werner’s deflected shot is kicked away desperately by Soyuncu in the six-yard box, with Pulisic waiting behind him. The xG computer is going to explode any minute now.
38 min More excellent approach play from Chelsea. Jorginho’s crossfield pass finds Azpilicueta near the byline in the area. He cushions a volley back towards Pulisic, who lets it run on to Mount. He slaps it over the bar on the bounce. It was a difficult chance but the build-up was lovely.
37 min “Evening Rob,” says Stephen Carr. “Alex Ferguson said Filippo Inzaghi was born offside. Timo Werner must have been conceived, born and raised that way.”
36 min “It’s not football any more,” sing the Chelsea fans.
NO GOAL! Chelsea 0-0 Leicester
No controversy with that, though Chelsea will wonder how Werner managed to miss with his head before the ball hit his arm. He was two yards out, with an open goal. Poor bloke is having a nightmare, and he’s already had two goals disallowed tonight.
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It’s handball! The corner was flicked on at the near post, and Werner bundled it over the line with his right arm after missing a header.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Leicester (Werner 34)
Werner scores, VAR permitting!
34 min This is so one-sided. A corner is half cleared to James, whose long-range shot takes a big deflection off Tielemans and goes behind for another. From which...
33 min Werner, on the right of the box, has a shot very well blocked by Castagne.
32 min Kante is replaced by Kovacic. He is walking off at a reasonable pace, which suggests a muscle strain rather than a tear. The Champions League final is a week on Saturday.
32 min Ayoze Perez takes his defensive No10 role a bit too far by booting Chilwell up in the air. He’s booked.
31 min Mateo Kovacic is getting ready to come on. It sounds like N’Golo Kante is injured, which is a worry for all sorts of reasons.
29 min The resulting corner, taken by Chilwell, is headed over from four yards by Thiago. He was stretching and under pressure from Soyuncu, which made it really hard for him to get over the ball.
28 min Marvellous play from Mason Mount. He picks up the ball on the halfway line and scurries all the way into the area. An attempted pass to Werner is blocked, but the ball loops straight up in the air. Mount backs into Soyuncu (I think) to shield the dropping ball, controls it deftly and lashes a shot on the turn that is pushed over by Schmeichel. That was a delightful bit of play, a perfect mixture of attitude and aptitude.
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28 min Leicester look like a team who have come for a draw, though I thought that at the Etihad in September and they won 5-2.
27 min “That was not a penalty for me,” says Michael Day. “For one, Tielemans was in the act of kicking the ball and any contact was unintentional. Secondly, I think Werner was just trying to intentionally get kicked by a swinging leg to win a penalty.”
Are either of those relevant? That’s a genuine question; I haven’t a clue any more and plan to spend the whole summer swotting up on the laws of football.
26 min A Leicester corner is flicked on at the near post and volleyed over by Vardy. It was a pretty difficult ball to take, at around thigh height, so it wasn’t much of a chance.
25 min It’s true that, even without VAR, Chelsea wouldn’t have been given a penalty for that Tielemans challenge on Werner. But the sense of injustice would be nowhere near as great.
23 min Cesar Azpilicueta, who could start a row in an empty chatroom, has already started complaining about Leicester timewasting at throw-ins.
22 min: Werner has a goal disallowed for offside! He’ll be even more hacked off now. Mount stabbed a lovely little pass through to Werner, who dragged a finish into the bottom corner. The flag went up at that point, and replays showed he was well offside. Thomas Tuchel was halfway through an angry celebration when he realised.
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20 min Werner, not unreasonably, is thoroughly hacked off with that decision.
19 min Tielemans, in the Leicester area, is about to clear the ball when Werner comes on his blind side. As a result Tielemans kicks through Werner, who falls over... and Mike Dean gives a free-kick to Leicester. VAR isn’t interested but that could easily have been a penalty.
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18 min Mount has been particularly bright for Chelsea in the first 18 minutes. It’s been extremely one-sided so far; the possession stats are 65-35.
15 min Mount plays a crisp pass out to Pulisic on the right. He dances into the area but then overruns the ball, allowing Thomas to block him off.
13 min Tielemans beats Rudiger 30 yards from goal with an ingenious touch/fortunate miscontrol. He eschews the shot and tries to float the ball over the defence towards Vardy at the far post. The well-positioned Reece James heads clear.
10 min It’s all Chelsea. Azpilicueta slides a dangerous first-time cross that flashes through the six-yard box, just too far in front of Werner.
9 min Pulisic stabs a good pass to Kante in the inside-right channel. He charges into the area and hits a shot that is pushed away by Schmeichel, diving to his right. Chelsea keep the ball alive and Pulisic’s shot from the edge of the area is deflected over the bar.
6 min Chelsea have made a really fast start. James moves forward from the back and drives a long-range shot wide of the far post. Schmeichel had it covered.
5 min Tielemans stays down after a heavy challenge from Rudiger. Chelsea play on, and eventually Mount’s inswinging cross just evades Azpilicueta at the far post. Tielemans is fine now.
4 min Chilwell picks up where he left off at Wembley, trying to bite the hand that used to feed him. Werner turned Fofana majestically, surged to the edge of the D and played the ball to his left towards Mount. He let it run on to Chilwell, who rifled a cross shot just wide of the far post.
2 min Soyuncu, up for a free-kick, puts in a good cross from the left that is headed away by James. He is again playing as the right-sided centre-back to deal with Jamie Vardy’s channel runs.
1 min Peeeeeep peeeep! Chelsea kick off from left to right. Chelsea are in blue; Leicester are in their FA Cup-winning kit.
“Just thought I’d throw this in as I’ve seen nothing else about it,” says Dave Walklett. “Amidst all the other fun last weekend Leicester City Women beat Manchester United Women 3-2 in the FA Cup. Leicester also won promotion to the WSL, losing only two matches all season. I think that’s probably worth a little mention!”
I won’t ask if anyone knows what happened to Chelsea at the weekend. (If you haven’t seen it, check out the pass for the third goal. The run for the fourth isn’t bad either.)
“As a Liverpool fan I’m not entirely sure what result I want here,” says Rich Delaney. “I think I want Leicester to win to avoid a goal difference scenario with Leicester should they lose this and win their last. Am I right?”
I don’t think it really matters – if Liverpool win the last two games they’ll be fine - but the best result is probably a Leicester win, or a 22-man brawl that leads to a points deduction for both sides. I think the worst result for Liverpool is a Chelsea win, because it leaves them vulnerable if they get four points from the last two games. (And they could theoretically miss out on goal difference even if they win both matches, but I can’t see that happening.)
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And James Maddison
“We had a good night Saturday night, rightly so – it was the best day of my life – but it’s back to business. Make no mistake, everyone in our camp knows how important this is: it’s another cup final really. It’s a massive game and we’re here to win.”
And Brendan Rodgers
“We’re looking forward to it. It was brilliant to pick up a trophy on Saturday but you have to park that success. We had a small celebration on Saturday but the focus is now on this game.”
The pre-match thoughts of Thomas Tuchel
“I would take the same performance [as in the FA Cup final]. We believe it was enough to win the game. We need to improve our composure and decision-making the last third – this is not a completely new subject – but this is a process for us. We are a young team, built to grow, and today is another important match.
“You can tell the fans haven’t been here for a long time when they clap the coach as he comes out for an interview! It’s a huge difference, it changes everything – it’s only 8,000 but it’s a good first step. We can’t wait until it’s really full. It’s a completely different games with spectators.”
There will be around 8,000 fans at Stamford Bridge tonight. That should make for a lively atmosphere, especially if VAR does a number on Chelsea again.
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While Leicester would settle for fourth, they could still finish as high as second. That’s because Manchester United were surprisingly held by Fulham earlier this evening. Leicester are five points behind United with tonight’s game in hand.
This, as always, is tremendous
Team news
Some interesting team news on both sides. Chelsea make three changes from Saturday - Edouard Mendy is back in goal, while Ben Chilwell and Christian Pulisic come in for Marcos Alonso and Hakim Ziyech. There’s no Kai Havertz, not even on the bench, because of an unspecified injury.
Marc Albrighton replaces the injured Jonny Evans for Leicester, while James Maddison is surprisingly preferred to Kelechi Iheanacho. That probably means a switch to 3-4-2-1, though the flexibility of Albrighton and Castagne means they could also play 4-2-3-1.
Chelsea (3-4-2-1) Mendy; James, Thiago, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho, Chilwell; Mount, Pulisic; Werner.
Substitutes: Arrizabalaga, Alonso, Zouma, Emerson, Kovacic, Ziyech, Abraham, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi.
Leicester (3-4-2-1) Schmeichel; Castagne, Fofana, Soyuncu; Albrighton, Tielemans, Ndidi, Thomas; Perez, Maddison; Vardy.
Substitutes: Ward, Morgan, Amartey, Pereira, Fuchs, Choudhury, Mendy, Praet, Iheanacho.
Referee Mike Dean.
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Preamble
This is the real quiz. It’s all well and good winning the FA Cup, but the real prize is qualification for the Champions League. That’s what Thomas Tuchel said, though we should point out that his comments were far more nuanced and reasonable than the headlines suggested.
I suspect Leicester would have shared his view a few days ago, though maybe not after being drenched in glory and goodwill at Wembley. Whatever they feel now about the priorities of the 2020-21 season, they will still be desperate to win this one. Or at least draw it: that’s all they need to stay in control of the race for a Champions League place.
There are a couple of ways that both Leicester and Chelsea can qualify for next season’s competition, but the likeliest scenario, given Liverpool’s form and fixture list, is that only one of them will do so by finishing in the top four. Here’s the Premier League table with two games to go: Leicester 66pts (GD+21), Chelsea 64 (GD+22), Liverpool 63 (GD+21).
Let’s cut to the permutations, shall we:
- If Chelsea win tonight they will move a point ahead of Leicester, and be guaranteed a Champions League place if they beat Aston Villa away on Sunday
- If it’s a draw the whole thing rolls over to Sunday, but a top-four place will be out of Chelsea’s hands if Liverpool win at Burnley tomorrow
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If Leicester win, they will qualify for the Champions League with a game to spare, and it’ll be all round to Jamie Vardy’s tomorrow
morningnight. Oh, and all connected with Chelsea will become Burnley and Crystal Palace supporters
Kick off 8.15pm.
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