Leicester City 1-2 Chelsea: 5 Talking Points

Goalscorers: Alvaro Morata 42', Pedro 105'; Jamie Vardy 76'

Chelsea became the fourth and final side to book their place in the semi-finals of the Emirates FA Cup when they beat Leicester City on a cold night under the lights at the King Power Stadium. The Blues were not handed any favours whatsoever from the hosts, who forced the game into extra time after Alvaro Morata's 42nd-minute strike was cancelled out by Jamie Vardy in the 76th minute.

Antonio Conte's men were forced to encounter a number of threats as soon as the second half began and Leicester quickly forced the initiative on the Premier League champions who struggled to keep the Foxes at bay.

Substitute Pedro leapt the highest to find the back of the net after a sublime delivery from N'Golo Kante coupled with an erratic decision to come out of his line from Kasper Schmeichel gifted Chelsea with the perfect escape route out of East Midlands.

On that note, let's have a closer look at the five major talking points from the riveting encounter between the two sides.

#1 Chelsea keep silverware hopes alive

Pedro ensured that Chelsea booked their ticket to Wembley

The events that have unfolded at Chelsea over the course of the last 12 months have been somewhat astonishing to say the least. Antonio Conte's men were the team to beat in England last season as they cruised to yet another Premier League title by the end of the campaign.

However, things have hardly been the same ever since they started their current campaign under the Italian. There have been a number of issues that has bothered Conte this term which include Chelsea's inability to compete with their rivals in terms of transfer market activity and decision making.

The FA Cup is Chelsea's only chance of salvaging a season which has been very mediocre otherwise after they crashed out of the UEFA Champions League against Barcelona in the round of 16 tie during midweek. The defending champions are also struggling to keep up with the race for the top four and are currently five points away from fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.

Chelsea will face Southampton in the semi-finals of the competition and will be hoping to reach the finals and taste some silverware unlike last year, where they lost to rivals Arsenal.

#2 End of the road for Leicester but the journey under Puel continues

The Foxes have been impressive under Claude Puel

Unfortunately, Leicester's cup run had to come to an end with this result and the Foxes will be feeling a little disappointed about the manner in which they had to bow out of the competition.

There were many instances during the game in which Claude Puel's men looked like running away with the all-important ticket to Wembley but it was all undone by a Chelsea side who waited for the perfect opportunity to deliver the killer blow.

Since taking over from Craig Shakespeare back in October 2017, Puel has managed to keep Leicester running without faltering at key moments. The Foxes are currently 8th in the Premier League table and will be in contention for a Europa League qualification spot until the end of the season.

This loss against Chelsea was their first one at home since the turn of the year and the fact that they have been unbeaten for over 8 games during that period is a massive indication of the journey they are going through under the tutelage of Puel.

#3 Kante is indispensable but Chelsea could do without Bakayoko

Chelsea's victory on the night could be credited in the name of N'Golo Kante to some extent at least. The Frenchman was their best player against Barcelona during midweek and picked up from where he left off at the Nou Camp, leaving the Leicester players far behind with his quick-thinking and excellent ball retention.

Kante attempted a total of 76 passes with an impressive accuracy of 88% to go with his assist for the winning goal and a couple of key interceptions and vital tackles. His partner in midfield, on the other hand, was nowhere near him in terms of making an impact on the game. Tiemoue Bakayoko struggled to keep possession of the ball and was replaced by Cesc Fabregas at the half-time interval.

The 23-year-old, who joined from Monaco in the summer, has failed to nail down a position at his new club and has been handed the task of filling a massive void left behind by the departure of Nemanja Matic to Manchester United. Bakayoko is far from being a finished product but it almost feels like his time at Chelsea could well be over before it had even started!

#4 Mahrez and Ndidi shine on potential auditions

Leicester will have a hard time keeping Mahrez at the club

It only seems like a matter of when and where in the speculation surrounding the future of Riyad Mahrez at Leicester City. The Algerian was on the cusp of leaving the King Power Stadium in January after a number of Premier League clubs including Chelsea were reportedly interested in acquiring his services.

Puel had earlier revealed that he would be happy if he can keep his best players at the club at least until the end of the current season. The performance from Mahrez wouldn't have gone unnoticed and if Chelsea are actually considering a bid for the winger in the next transfer window, there might be very little that can go wrong in the deal for both parties.

Another player who could be on Chelsea's wishlist for the summer is Wilfred Ndidi who was signed from Genk as a replacement for the outgoing Kante, who joined Chelsea in 2016. Ndidi was rock solid at the centre of the park for the Foxes on the night and managed to cause all kinds of problems for Chelsea, who could do well with a player like him accompanying Kante in the foreseeable future.

#5 Morata finally puts an end to the drought

After enjoying a stellar start to his life in England, Alvaro Morata's performances since the turn of the year have been abysmal to say the least. In the build-up to this game, Chelsea's record signing had failed to find the back of the net in his last 13 appearances for the club across all competitions.

During that time, the Spaniard had also picked up 4 yellow cards and a sending off against Norwich in the FA Cup, courtesy of a second yellow for simulation, to add to his already existing bunch of problems.

The scintillating form of Michy Batshuayi, who is currently on loan at Borussia Dortmund, added to the pressure on Morata and he was handed with the perfect opportunity to make use of some useful playing time against Leicester.

Morata opened the scoring for Chelsea with a composed finish after he was played through on goal by a defence-splitting pass from Willian towards the end of the first half.

Edited by Raunak J