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Frank Lampard's homecoming party was cut short by a valiant effort from Leicester City, as Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw by Brendan Rodgers' side. In what could have been a game packed and sealed in the opening exchanges of the game, they now sit with just the solitary point from two fixtures.
Lampard's side were clearly the better team in the first half, with the proceedings indicating a possible second and perhaps, a third goal for the Blues after Mason Mount had earlier launched his side ahead.
But, a promising second-half display from Leicester City derailed their progress as Wilfred Ndidi put his team back on level terms. They really turned up the heat, and a whole lot of Leicester supporters will be ruing over the missed opportunities.
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On that note, we look at the major talking points from the 1-1 draw between Chelsea and Leicester City.
#1 Lampard names an interesting line-up with three-man midfield
Since his arrival, Lampard has tried out various structures and formations in order to bring the best out of an elite group of young and experienced players. In the 4-0 mauling at Old Trafford last season, he opted to play the 4-2-3-1, where a lot was demanded of the three attacking midfielders in the absence of N'Golo Kante.
As a result, the forwards' pressing game wore out, and United capitalized on the spaces left in midfield. This time around, perhaps owing to the inspirational performance against Liverpool in the UEFA Super Cup fixture, the former Derby County boss charted out a 4-3-3.
There was no space for either Ross Barkley or Mateo Kovacic in midfield, as Kante and Jorginho played on either side of a number 8 in Mason Mount. The backline remained the same as last weekend, while Christian Pulisic made his first full league start, down the left.
The ever-so-willing Pedro, who covered the length of the pitch with his lung-busting runs in the first half, occupied the right flank. Olivier Giroud and not Tammy Abraham spearheaded the attack for Chelsea.
Also See : Epl table, Epl fixtures, Epl results
#2 Chelsea's high pressing pays dividends as Mount opens the scoring
Since the very beginning of the Lampard era - dating back to pre-season - we have seen an audacious degree of high, fearless pressing from the Chelsea midfielders. Here again, right from the outset, they set out to rob Leicester at Stamford Bridge in the advanced areas of the pitch.
Consequently, the Blues saw their first clear cut opportunity of the fixture inside the first minute itself, when Cesar Azpilicueta fizzed one into the path of Giroud, who chested it to Pedro. The Spaniard lashed a ferocious volley to the side-netting.
Just a couple of minutes later, the hosts, packing the entire channel with blue, were at it again. The likes of Kante (down the right), Jorginho (deeper), Mount (retreating forward) and the wingers encircled the flanks after initially forcing the ball out wide.
The procedure reaped rewards big time as Mason Mount kicked off the Frank Lampard era with a sumptuous finish in the seventh minute. While the rest of his teammates were jogging upfront and closing down spaces, he sprinted towards a careless Wilfred Ndidi and pick-pocketed the central midfielder.
What was simply world-class in the process was how he got his shot away despite being down.
#3 Olivier Giroud invites a focal point for Chelsea
Now, Lampard's selection with respect to leading the attack with Olivier Giroud was perhaps the smartest option for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, he leads the press upfront, guides and directs the crosses that come in and owns invaluable experience to play around a bunch of youngsters.
Secondly, Giroud may not have the most prolific record in the league and isn't someone who can give you 25 goals in a season, but the Frenchman's tireless nature, link-up play and aerial skills are as good as anyone else's in the league.
He's not someone with the most venomous shooting boots, but Giroud can create something out of little and finish from acute angles.
Not once or twice, but thrice, we saw him splitting the opposition defense with sublime hold-up and combination play.
As aforementioned, his control with the chest in the very first minute of the game got the Stamford Bridge crowd off their seats. Just a couple of minutes later, he used his physicality to one again lay it on a platter to Mason Mount, who smashed one, almost giving Chelsea the lead.
Finally, his back-heel to Kante just after the half an hour mark showed just how aware and intelligent he is inside the 18-yard box. He certainly should have played about 10-12 minutes more.
#4 Leicester City up the tempo as Ndidi restores parity
Although Leicester were clearly under the pump in the first half owing to how many Chelsea attacks they conceded in front of goal, they headed into the tunnel knowing that the game is far from over.
And just as the second half began, the intensity rose. James Maddison and Youri Tielemans got involved much more and by the hour mark, Leicester had five shots on Chelsea's goal in contrast to the two they amassed in the opening 45 minutes.
More importantly, the Foxes infused a sense of urgency in proceedings and committed more bodies forward.
As a result, Maddison saw himself and Vardy through a couple of times, but indecision led to the scoreline being 1-0. He should have picked the final ball earlier, but went for it all by himself instead.
However, the former Norwich City man whipped a delightful ball to Ndidi, whose movement outclassed Chelsea and gave the visitors a deserved leveller. That was not all as Brendan Rodgers and co. continued to knock at Chelsea's door and won back possession a good number of times.
#5 While not with the ball, Chelsea have a lot to learn
At last, the game finished at 1-1, but Leicester ended their game as the better side in the second half. They enjoyed more than 10 attempts on goal, with Maddison and Tielemans being at the heart of the attacks.
One strikingly significantly worrying sign for Chelsea is how they defended without the ball. Just when the away side began to commit members forward, put pressure on the Chelsea full-backs and holding midfielders, there was a sense of panic around.
More often than not, it was the poor decision making from Leicester City that spared the Blues' blushes. Had Vardy got to the end of better passes from his peers, Lampard would've still been sitting on zero points in the Premier League.
Chelsea were left exposed without the ball, as poor positioning, tracking and chasing led to the exposure of a large portion of their casualties. Something needs to happen soon, because the silky-smooth football toppled with tremendous tempo will start to fade away if the team doesn't collectively muster victories.
In terms of tracking back and especially positioning, Lampard will have to introduce his wider midfielders to a more compact approach heading forward.
