Leicester City vs. Chelsea: Winners and Losers from Premier League Game
Chelsea took another significant step toward clinching the Premier League title with a come-from-behind 3-1 win over Leicester City on Wednesday.
Leicester, fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table, started the game brightly and took the lead on the stroke of half-time through Marc Albrighton, but ultimately, Chelsea's greater quality shone through.
Perhaps spurred on by a rollicking from Jose Mourinho during the break, the Blues equalised straight after the restart through Didier Drogba and then took the lead through another old-head, John Terry.
Soon after that, a smart long-range finish from Ramires clinched all three points—meaning Chelsea can officially be crowned Premier League champions with another win over Crystal Palace at the weekend.
Leicester, meanwhile, remain just a point above the relegation zone (having played a game more than 18th-placed Sunderland), but they will doubtless take some positives from the manner of their display against the champions-elect.
Click on for some winners and losers from the King Power Stadium.
Winner: John Terry (and the Chelsea Defence)
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With Eden Hazard having got his due recognition at the weekend with his Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year award, in many ways this victory shone the spotlight on the other key reasons for Chelsea's impending title celebration.
The weekend's goalless draw with Arsenal was built on strong defence, and so was this win, albeit in a different manner. After the brilliant, lock-tight defensive efforts at the Emirates, at the King Power Stadium, it was the Blues defenders going up the other end to assist and score the two goals that turned this contest around.
First it was Branislav Ivanovic, the full-back getting beyond his man before expertly picking out Didier Drogba for an equaliser almost immediately after half-time. Captain John Terry then got the all-important third goal of the game, reacting first to central defensive partner Gary Cahill's initial header to put the Blues ahead before Ramires rounded up the scoring in a 3-1 win.
Chelsea's defence might be the best in the league, but it is not just brilliant at keeping them out at one end. It chips in with more than its fair share at the other end as well.
A combined return of 19 goals and 15 assists, per Opta, is obscene for any defensive unit, particularly one that is as defensively sound—and defensively minded—as Chelsea's. Take Hazard out of this team and the Blues would surely have had a much tougher title campaign, but take the goals and assists from their defenders out of the equation and you start to wonder where they might be in the table.
Loser: Nigel Pearson
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Nigel Pearson will probably move on from this defeat relatively quickly—a victory over the champions-elect was never a likely proposition anyway—but that is not to say it wasn't still an opportunity missed. Leicester had a deserved lead at one point in the game, but a combination of bad luck and a few shortcomings saw that slender advantage quickly erased.
Pearson will be perhaps disappointed at how quickly Chelsea equalised after half-time (and then subsequently took the lead), an indication that his counterpart Mourinho had the more successful half-time team talk. But Pearson was also limited in his options—with two early injuries to key players (Andy King and Robert Huth), he only had one substitution to use when it came to a point in the match when he may have wanted to change things.
The way the lead was frittered away will disappoint Pearson, who might wonder if he could have sent his team out after the break in a different, stronger mindset. Now his task is to focus on the undoubted positives from the game and build on those for the final four games that will define their future in this division.
Afterward, Pearson said, per BBC:
"Before the game starts we knew it was a case of when, rather than if, Chelsea win the title.
It is difficult when you have to make a couple of substitutions in the game which are not really tactical, that is difficult to deal with but we gave a good account of ourselves. I think 3-1 does not necessarily reflect the balance of game but we played against a very good side who will be worthy winners of the Premier League title. ...
... There is a feeling we are capable and have given ourselves a better chance of avoiding relegation, tonight is a setback because when you go ahead you expect to push on but we came up against a side able to take advantage of their quality in second half.
"
Winner: Willian (and Cesc Fabregas)
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Willian was perhaps the most exciting attacking player on show at the King Power Stadium on Wednesday, as he caught the eye on a couple of occasions with his searing pace and dangerous use of the ball.
In a game where Chelsea struggled for fluency for large parts of the game, it was Willian who most regularly broke through the Foxes' defensive lines, popping up all across the pitch as he left opposition players in his wake. With some better finishing from his team-mates, the Brazilian would have laid on a couple of assists for the team and made the evening an altogether more straightforward affair.
As it was, it ended up being Cesc Fabregas who added another assist to his tally for the season, with the 17 he now has for the campaign leaving him with an outside chance of matching Thierry Henry's all-time record before the season is out. (He also has seven more than anyone else this season, per Squawka.)
Not bad for a player who apparently could not make the PFA Team of the Year.
Afterward, Mourinho noted, per the BBC:
"If I tell you on television what I said [in the half-time team-talk] it will be 'peep peep peep'. Too many peeps! ...
... Stamford Bridge is ready to celebrate [winning the title against Crystal Palace] but if I can ask something from them it is to not celebrate. We all want to win on Sunday but it will be a difficult game. Stamford Bridge must be ready to push us. I hope they want to play the game with us. We need them to help us win the title on Sunday.
"
Loser: Eden Hazard
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The PFA Player of the Year celebrated his individual award with perhaps one of his quietest performances of the campaign, as other players stepped to the forefront in another important Chelsea win.
Eden Hazard had his moments—with footballing intelligence and technique like that, you are always going to have at least a few moments over the course of 90 minutes—but this was not his most impactful display, as the likes of Willian and Cesc Fabregas instead stepped up and proved to be the greater creators.
Leicester, well aware of Hazard's quality and difference-making ability, seemed to make a concerted effort to man-mark and occasionally double-mark him, a strategy that was effective for large parts of the 90 minutes.
That is not to say Hazard was a real "loser"—he has done more than enough this season to earn a little slack for those nights when he is not quite at his sparkling best. He just wasn't at his highest level on this occasion; then again, he is a major reason why Chelsea have arrived at this stage of the season in such a dominant position.
Winners: Aston Villa, Hull and Newcastle
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The big winners of the night? With the title race already effectively decided, perhaps it was the other teams at the bottom of the table that really benefited most from how things unfolded in the second half at the King Power.
As things stood when both teams went in for the half-time break, Aston Villa had dropped to 17th in the live league table, two points above Sunderland (having played a game more). Leicester had moved level with Hull City on 34 points, just one behind Newcastle United (who are suddenly precariously placed on 35 points, as they have been for a while), really adding to the packed situation in the grand scramble to retain Premier League survival.
Chelsea's subsequent comeback, however, means the status quo was ultimately retained—giving Villa and Hull the same small cushion they previously had, while also ensuring Sunderland can climb out of the drop zone with a positive result in their game in hand.
Leicester still have a great opportunity in front of them—three of their final four games are at home—but they have plenty of work to do. On a night when it looked like they could pick up an unexpected three points against the league's best side, their nearest rivals will be extremely relieved they didn't.
