Full time: Chelsea 3-0 Leicester
That’s it. A very comfortable win for Chelsea, who continue their recovery after that miserable night at Arsenal. There were a number of outstanding performances, most notably from Kante, Moses, Luiz, Pedro and Hazard. There’s plenty still to do but Antonio Conte is starting to shape the sort of team he wants. Leicester are still trying to work out what you do after the greatest Lord Mayor’s Show in the history of Lord Mayor’s Shows. Thanks for your company, bye.
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88 min As you probably know, Leicester have lost four games already this season, more than throughout 2015-16. They’ve also conceded 13 goals in four away games; last season they conceded 18 in 19. They have different priorities now, and it’s hard to criticise them for that.
87 min “Pacy wingers with bad brains should all be converted into wing-backs,” says Phil Podolsky. “Not too late for Theo, is it? Oh.”
He should have become a specialist substitute five years ago. I mean that; there’s so much glory to be had.
85 min Drinkwater thrashes a 20-yard shot that deflects wide off Azpilicueta. Mahrez’s corner comes to nothing.
82 min A double Chelsea substitution: Hazard and Moses off, Loftus-Check and Aina off. Moses received a lovely reception as he left; he’s come from nowhere to become a really important player in this system.
GOAL! Chelsea 3-0 Leicester (Moses 80)
Victor Moses seals the match with a wonderful goal! Moses, who has had a fine game at wing-back, came infield from the right and squared the ball to Chalobah on the edge of the area. Chalobah produced an ingenious first-time backheel put Moses clear, a moment of such dizzying brilliance that at first it was hard to be sure he meant it, and Moses passed it through Schmeichel from close range.
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78 min After a nice run across the face of the area, Matic’s low shot deflects off Morgan and is turned round by Schmeichel.
77 min “That bad language,” says Stuart Jenkinson. “To be fair, it could just have been a vocal South African discussing what Kasper is and isn’t able to do...”
76 min Oddly, Leicester have looked much less dangerous since the introduction of Mahrez and Slimani, who haven’t been able to get into the game.
75 min “I’ve been thinking for awhile now that the fall of Leicester and last year’s flattening of Chelsea was because of the extreme difficulty of a ‘once more unto the breach’ mentality of summoning up a title defence,” says Hubert O’Hearn. “Now I believe I know what’s missing. Neither side has or had that true, obsessive, midfield general along the lines of Souness, Roy Keane or the subtler yet no less dominant Frank Lampard. Patrick Vieira would count too, although Arsenal never had a successful title defence. The laissez-faire Yaya Toure or Cesc Fabgregas don’t quite get it done. Do you think I’m onto something?”
I do agree that players like that are crucial in terms of maintaining and even increasing standards, though you need a lot more than just one player with that attitude. Defending a title is incredibly difficult; the fact three astonishing Arsenal teams couldn’t do it is the best example of that. Plus you don’t have to be a tough guy to have those standards; look at Xaviesta for example.
74 min Leicester make their final substitution: King replaces Albrighton, who has been terrific since half-time.
73 min Morgan clears off the line to deny Kante a goal against his old club! Costa’s cross was only partially cleared by the outstretched leg of Schmeichel, and Kante’s instant follow-up would have gone in but for Morgan’s block.
72 min Costa and Conte are having words about something or other. Costa wants to be subbed; Conte has reminded him, possibly via the medium of the four-letter word, who is the manager of Chelsea Football Club.
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71 min Chelsea have had a lot of nearly moments on the break in the second half and there’s another, with Costa combining well with Hazard before being dispossessed in the area by Fuchs.
68 min Chelsea make a change as well, with Nathaniel Chalobah replacing the lively Pedro.
67 min Leicester make a double substitution: Slimani for Musa, Mahrez for Schlupp.
66 min Leicester are about to bring on Mahrez. The change in this game has been enormous. They must have had a rare old rollocking at half-time.
65 min Sky’s Rob Hawthorne has just apologised “if you heard any bad language from our pitch microphones”. Oh we heard it.
63 min Leicester, for all their improvement, haven’t really troubled Courtois as yet. They almost did then! Albrighton on the right played a stunning low cross towards Vardy on the six-yard line, and the stretching David Luiz diverted it onto his own post! Chelsea break, at which point the pitch mic captures somebody shouting “SCHMEICHEL YOU CAHNNNNNT!”
62 min You know when you see your ex for the first time since they dumped you, and they look bloody hot? Well Kante is having a storming game today.
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58 min This has unexpectedly turned into a fine, end-to-end game. If Leicester get one, and then bring on Mahrez, anything could happen.
57 min Schmeichel keeps the game alive with a fine save from Moses. It came from a Leicester corner. Kante went on a ludicrous 70-yard surge down the left before playing a fine pass to find Moses in the centre. His crisp sidefooted shot was going in but Schmeichel got down excellently to his right.
57 min “Unless one of the biggest come-backs against the run of play is about to happen, Leicester will have more defeats after week eight than they had in the whole league campaign last season,” says Admir Pajic. Wow, I bet that hasn’t happened for ages, eh? “That hasn’t happened since...well, last season when Chelsea suffered their fourth league in week eight at home to Southampton.
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55 min Another penalty appeal, with Alonso’s cross hitting the sliding Huth. In fact it hit his chest rather than his arm anyway.
54 min “Perhaps Leicester should have implemented a radical strategy to counter the inevitable difficult second album season (or non-pick up of free downloads) by having two managers,” writes Adrian de la Touche.
Why not? It worked well for England in Slovakia.
53 min Albrighton makes space on the edge of the area and drives over the bar. Leicester’s performance since half-time suggests the application of the hairdryer by Claudio Ranieri. They are playing with much greater vigour and purpose; they’re playing like Leicester, basically.
51 min Azpilicueta is booked for sliding through Musa.
48 min I completely missed a Chelsea appeal for a penalty after nine seconds of the second half, when Pedro’s shot hit the arm of Fuchs. And now Leicester have had a strong appeal turned down by Mr Andre Marriner. Schlupp went at Moses, who ran across him and bounced Schlupp to the ground. I think I’d have given a penalty there, though it wasn’t clear cut.
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47 min “I’m just emailing so you’ll have someone to quote apart from Ian Copestake and Gary Naylor,” says Roy Allen. “What have Leicester lost? Hunger? Edge? Kanté? Underdog status? Element of surprise? All of the above?”
Yep, all of those and more. It can’t be a coincidence that Leeds and Blackburn were also very strong at home and utterly abysmal away from home when defending their titles.
46 min Peep peep! Chelsea begin the second half, kicking from left to right.
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Half-time reading
Half-time: Chelsea 2-0 Leicester
Peep peep! That was a stroll for Chelsea against a Leicester side who were somewhere between apathetic and pathetic. Who cares, they won the league last year, and that is worth a million 2-0 half-time deficits. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
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44 min “Is it safe to start up the patronising again with ‘Little Leicester’ like we did in the good old days of 2014?” asks Gary Naylor. “How about punctuating every conversation about football with “It’s all about money”, as 606 callers (and pundits) did in all shows from about 1995 until 2015? And is it too soon for a clumsy, but somehow apposite, “Jamie Vardy’s having a wake” song? See, that’s what the newscycle does these days - nostalgia is a matter of weeks not generations.”
I told you all after the pre-season draw against Celtic: Ranieri should be sacked. He’s taken the club as far as he can.
43 min Hazard, who is doing whatever he wants, zips infield and has a shot blocked on the edge of the area. If Chelsea can be bothered - and they have no midweek game to worry about - they could at least double this score in the second half.
41 min Another swirling free-kick from Luiz is beaten away by Schmeichel. It was close to him but moving wickedly so he decided to punch rather than catch.
39 min This is a decent spell for Leicester. Albrighton’s inswinging corner from the left is sliced back across his own area by Alonso at the far post, and David Luiz heads it behind for another corner. That one is punched clear by Courtois.
38 min A quarter-chance for Vardy, who moves towards Hernandez’s low cross at the near post, but the sliding David Luiz does enough to put him off and the ball runs across the area.
35 min “Why,” asks Ian Copestake, “has the Washington Post not released footage of Trump with Saint & Greavsie?”
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GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Leicester (Hazard 33)
This is going to be a rout. Huth and Hernandez get in the way of each other as they try to intercept a Matic through pass. It comes to Pedro, who helps it on towards Hazard. The ball hits Hazard in the head and bounces nicely beyond the last man Fuchs. Schmeichel comes out but Hazard gets there first, moving smoothly around the keeper before sidefooting into the net. That was a lovely finish.
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32 min Huth is very lucky not to be sent off for deliberate - well, instinctive - handball as Costa tries to flick the ball past him.
31 min “Hello, Rob,” says Admir Pajic. “Well, at least Leicester fans can console themselves with a competent European campaign comparing to Leeds’ and Blackburn’s awful Champions League experience.”
Indeed. No chance they’ll win it but I reckon they’ve a slight chance of getting to the semis and a decent one of getting to the quarters.
27 min Huth is booked for putting his considerable bodyweight on Eden Hazard’s right foot, through his studs. The free-kick is 25 yards out, to the left of centre, and David Luiz sidefoots it against the post! That was a beautiful effort, wobbling and swirling all over the place. Schmeichel leapt to his right but couldn’t get there and it clattered off the post.
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25 min Chelsea look so much better with a back three. Part of that is just because it feels right for a Conte team, but this formation suits the players he has so much better than 4-2-3-1. It’s a slightly odd take on the system, with three centre backs and two defensive midfield players, but it’s working fine for now.
23 min Chelsea aren’t creating many chances, yet their dominance and Leicester’s submissiveness are such that a second goal feels inevitable.
21 min In Premier League terms, Leicester are on their summer holidays already. That’s not a criticism; it was never going to possible to successfully follow what they achieved last season. I think they are right to chuck it all on the Champions League. Who cares whether they finish 17th or seventh this season? But if they get to the quarters or semis of the Champions League, they’ll remember it forever.
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19 min Kante plays a beautiful, Giresse-like chip over the top of the defence to find Hazard, who tries a first-time volley on the turn but can only loop it straight up in the air for Schmeichel to claim. It was a really difficult chance because of the trajectory of the ball and the angle of his run.
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18 min The Chelsea dominance continues. Vardy and Musa haven’t been in the game at all.
14 min After the goal, the Chelsea fans were singing: “Champions of Europe, you’ll never sing that.” What a charmless, confused attempt at oneupmanship.
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13 min It’s probably no coincidence that, when the last surprise champions Leeds and Blackburn endured miserable title defences, their away form was shocking. It looks like Leicester’s season will follow a similar pattern.
12 min Leicester are all over the place. Hazard teases Hernandez on the left of the box and whacks a dangerous low cross that is booted clear by Morgan in his own six-yard box.
11 min Kante is being booed by the Leicester fans. Why can’t we all just get along?
9 min “Why is there a snowman in the top corner of the MBM?” asks Ed Rostron. “Is it somehow connected to the app on my phone deciding to prioritise Australian League stories above everything else?”
If I tell ya ... I’d have to have a vague clue as to the answer. Which I don’t, sorry. You’re welcome!
Hazard’s low corner was flicked on daintily by Matic ahead of the near post, and Costa ran behind the daydreaming Morgan to rifle through Schmeichel at the far post. He had a ridiculous amount of space, with all the other players drawn towards the near post and Costa’s marker Morgan having a time-out to think through the ending of The Night Of. Hideous defending.
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GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Leicester (Diego Costa 7)
Leicester concede from a set-piece yet again.
7 min The marauding right-back Victor Moses runs down the right and drills a cross that deflects off Fuchs and is turned round the near post by Schmeichel. But then...
6 min Hazard runs menacingly at Morgan 25 yards from goal, opens up his body to shoot - and screws an abysmal effort about four miles wide of the far post.
5 min The pattern of the match is as we expected: Chelsea having lots of possession, with Leicester defending deep and aiming to use the comical pace of Vardy and Musa on the break.
4 min “I think Leicester are looking to mess with all our heads by getting relegated while winning the Champions League,” says Ian Copestake, “so they can be automatically parachuted up into the Europa League and play on Thursdays and Fridays.”
3 min: BREAKING TACTICS NEWS Albrighton is actually playing on the left, with Schlupp in the ersatz Mahrez role on the right.
2 min “Not a lot to say about today’s match except it does seem odd with a shade less than 20% of the season played that the past two champions are already in a joust for the Europa League,” says Hubert O’Hearn. “Speaking of unwanted competitions though, I’ve been wondering about the EFL Cup. On the one hand, it’s nice that the League Cup doesn’t have the label of a lager or bank slapped across it, but how should we pronounce EFL? Is it Evil Cup (nice ring to it, insert appropriate Mourinho joke), Eiffel Cup (non non, tout francais), or Eff All Cup? You can guess which one I hope grabs the public interest.”
1 min Peep peep! Leicester, in red, kick off from left to right. Chelsea are in blue innit?
Injury/clear-out update
Here’s Doremus Schafer: “According to Chelsea’s Twitter account: ‘Ivanovic, Mikel & Fabregas are unavailable today due to minor muscle injuries. Oscar has flown back to Brazil due to family illness’.”
Too late. The Guardian has reported that Conte has had a clear-out, and the Guardian is an honourable newspaper.
An email “I am perplexed how Fabregas and Oscar do not make it on the bench today,” says Leön Kalema. “If they are not injured then Conte is making a statement. Ohhh I had even forgotten Mikel and Ivanovic. Hahaha the exodus we have been waiting for is coming.”
I’d rather get on the bad side of Antonio Conte than Keyser Soze, but it’s touch and go.
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Pre-match viewing
Team news
Chelsea (3-4-3) Courtois; Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Cahill; Moses, Kante, Matic, Alonso; Pedro, Diego Costa, Hazard.
Substitutes: Begovic, Aina, Terry, Chalobah, Loftus-Cheek, Batshuayi, Solanke.
Leicester (4-4-2) Schmeichel; Hernández, Huth, Morgan, Fuchs; Albrighton, Drinkwater, Amartey, Schlupp; Musa, Vardy.
Substitutes: Zieler, King, Simpson, Slimani, Gray, Ulloa, Mahrez.
Referee Mr Andre Marriner.
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Preamble
Hello. The context of today’s meeting between Chelsea and Leicester City demonstrates the good and bad of the Premier League. The good: the league is so unpredictable that the last two champions can meet with no serious prospect of winning the league this season. The bad is that the football at the top end has been of such low quality – compared to the other big leagues, and the Premier League from 1997 to 2009 - that these teams could win it in the first place.
Leicester know how the Stone Roses felt in the early 1990s. You can’t follow last season’s triumph, so they haven’t bothered. Their league season is already over and their collective subconscious has widely adjusted its focus to the Champions League; their season will be defined by an intrepid run to the quarter-finals of that competition.
Chelsea are in their latest transition. In a sane society, Antonio Conte would have a free pass to rebuild for at least a year without any scrutiny of results; in the truly appalling world of English football in 2016, a world where the values bear a striking resemblance to those of Donald Trump, three bookies recently suspended betting on him being the next Premier League manager to be sacked.
These two have already met this season in a cracking EFL Cup (sic) tie, with Chelsea coming from 2-0 down to win 4-2. With the way both teams have defended this season, we could have a few more goals today.
Kick off is at 12.30pm.
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