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Chelsea secured a crucial 3-1 win over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday, March 11.
After suffering three consecutive defeats across competitions, the Blues mastered quite the turnaround, winning two on the bounce. They defeated Leeds United 1-0, before eliminating Dortmund from the Champions League 2-1 on aggregate. Graham Potter and his men were eager to continue their resurgent form.
January signing Mykhaylo Mudryk was handed a start while the rest of the side remained unchanged.
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Chelsea made a bright start to the game and looked threatening in the early stages of the first half. They raced into the lead after just 11 minutes as Ben Chilwell scored from an assist by an unlikely source in Kalidou Koulibaly to make it 1-0. The Blues then had a goal canceled midway through the period after Joao Felix had put it in the back of the net.
Leicester City showed great spirit and fought back to equalize soon after Chelsea's canceled goal. Patson Daka converted off an assist by Ricardo Pereira to make it 1-1 after 39 minutes. The Foxes nearly had an opportunity to grab the lead but a penalty decision on James Maddison was reversed. The Blues then restored their advantage as Kai Havertz scored in the sixth minute of added time to make it 2-1.
Potter made one alteration at the break as he replaced Joao Felix with Connor Gallagher in a bid to add more energy to central midfield. Leicester City, too, made multiple changes shortly after as they looked to claw their way back into the game. However, Chelsea carried serious momentum as Mudryk seemed to have scored after a darting run towards goal. However, the goal was ruled out for offside.
The Ukrainian then provided an assist for Mateo Kovacic to score from as the visitors made it 3-1 after 78 minutes. Leicester's troubles were compounded late in the game as defender Wout Faes was given his marching orders following a second bookable offense. The hosts played seven minutes of stoppage time with a man down.
Chelsea continued to pile on the pressure but were unable to find a fourth goal as they settled for a 3-1 win over Leicester City. On that note, let's take a look at the Blues' player ratings.
Chelsea Player Ratings
Kepa Arrizabalaga - 7/10
Kepa put in a great performance as he made five saves throughout the game. He also passed the ball with 65% accuracy, including four long balls.
Wesley Fofana - 7/10
Fofana put in a strong defensive display as he won five of his 10 duels, making two tackles, two clearances, and two blocks. He also played two long balls and was subbed off due to an injury.
Kalidou Koulibaly - 7.5/10
Koulibaly won four of his seven duels, making three tackles, five clearances, and one block. He played one key pass, one cross, and two long balls. Koulibaly provided an assist for his team's opening goal.
Marc Cucurella - 6.5/10
Cucurella put in a strong defensive display as he won seven duels, making seven tackles, three clearances, two interceptions, and two blocks.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek - 6.5/10
Loftus-Cheek played well as he won six of his 10 duels, making one tackle and one clearance. He also completed two dribbles and played two key passes. The Spaniard was booked for a foul in the first half.
Enzo Fernandez - 7.5/10
Fernandez passed the ball with 88% accuracy, including one key pass and five accurate long balls. He also won six duels, making four tackles and one clearance. Enzo provided an assist for Chelsea's second goal.
Mateo Kovacic - 7.5/10
Kovacic had a great game and scored the Blues' third goal to seal the win. He won six duels, making two clearances, one interception, and one tackle. He also completed two dribbles and played one key pass.
Ben Chilwell - 7.5/10
Chilwell put in a dominant performance on the left flank. He passed the ball with 70% accuracy, including three key passes and four crosses. He scored with his only shot on target in the game.
Kai Havertz - 7.5/10
Havertz played well and got on the scoresheet on the cusp of halftime. He attempted five shots, hitting the target twice. The German completed one key pass and one dribble and won six duels.
Mykhaylo Mudryk - 6.5/10
Mudryk put in an average performance but provided an assist for Chelsea's third goal of the second half. He won two duels and played two key passes.
Joao Felix - 6/10
Felix had 22 touches in an eventful first half in which he attempted two shots, hitting the woodwork once in the process. He played four long balls and won two duels.
Substitutes
Conor Gallagher - 7.5/10
Gallagher replaced Felix in the second half and put in a dominant performance for Chelsea. He passed the ball with 90% accuracy and won five of his eight duels. He also completed two dribbles and attempted one shot on target.
Christian Pulisic - 6/10
Pulisic replaced Chilwell in the second period but struggled to get into the game.
Trevoh Chalobah - 6.5/10
Chalobah came on in the second half to replace Loftus-Cheek and played well.
Carney Chukwuemeka & Benoit Badiashile - N/A
The pair came on late in the game and did not play enough minutes to warrant a rating.
