Leicester vs. Chelsea: Score and Reaction from 2015 Premier League Match

Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez were both on the scoresheet again for Leicester City as they returned to the top of the Premier League table with a 2-1 victory over defending champions Chelsea on Monday.

The superlative duo struck either side of half-time, as the Foxes opened up a 2-0 lead before Loic Remy pulled one back for the visitors in an entertaining second period.

Leicester were able to hold out for yet another victory, as Chelsea fell to a ninth league defeat of the campaign.

Both clubs provided news of their starting lineups ahead of the start of the action at the King Power Stadium:

Mahrez carved out the first attempt of the match in the second minute, as he moved freely into a central position on the edge of the area before firing straight at Thibaut Courtois.

The Belgian goalkeeper then almost handed the Foxes a golden chance in 13th minute, as he dropped Christian Fuchs' free-kick delivery before reclaiming the ball with a nervy snatch.

But it was far from free-flowing in the opening exchanges from either side, per Bleacher Report UK:

Chelsea lost Eden Hazard to injury just before the half hour after a challenge from Vardy, and the English striker broke the deadlock five minutes later.

Mahrez picked up the ball on the right in the 34th minute and floated a cross into the area that Vardy touched home on the volley after ghosting in between John Terry and Kurt Zouma.

Per WhoScored.com, it was Vardy's 15th league goal of the season and saw Claudio Ranieri's side go in at half-time with a 1-0 lead.

The 28-year-old was in the thick of the action again soon after the break, as he put in a heavy challenge on Diego Costa, to the Spaniard's chagrin, per BBC Sport's Phil McNulty:

Mahrez then piled further misery on the Blues, as he netted in the 48th minute to make it 2-0.

The Algerian's twists and turns on the right of the box bamboozled Cesar Azpilicueta and allowed him space to send a left-footed curler into the top corner of the net.

Jose Mourinho responded by throwing on Cesc Fabregas in place of captain Terry as the visitors switched to a back three.

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

They piled forward and almost pulled one back on the hour, as the ball fell to Pedro in space seven yards out from goal, but Danny Simpson recovered well to disturb the Spaniard's finish.

Minutes later, Costa was put through on goal but had his shot pushed wide by Kasper Schmeichel. 

The resulting corner then threw up another chance, as the ball fell to Branislav Ivanovic one yard out from goal, but the Serb could only heel the ball back into the penalty area.

Second-half substitute Remy finally found Chelsea's opener 13 minutes from time, as he headed home Pedro's brilliant cross from the left to give the Blues hope of potentially snatching a point, per the Premier League:

However, the hosts were well-organised at the back and barely allowed Chelsea any further chances of finding the net.

After five minutes of nervy stoppage time for the home fans, referee Mark Clattenburg blew the final whistle to see Leicester back on top of the Premier League with only 17 days remaining in 2015.  

Post-Match Reaction

Mourinho conceded following the loss that his side's top-four aspirations for this season are now all but gone, per the Premier League:

He was also heavily critical of the way his players approached the match, suggesting they did not stick to the game plan, per NBC Sports' Joe Prince-Wright:

Meanwhile, Ranieri was highly complimentary of his players' performance, especially their resolve in the closing stages, per Sky Sports (via BBC Sport's Jonathan Jurejko).

"We made a fantastic one hour, and the last 30 minutes, we suffered a lot, but they are the champions," Ranieri said. "I'm very pleased with our performance, we played compact and tried to do our best until the end, and that is good."

Ranieri is also keeping his sights firmly set on the goal he set at the beginning of the season despite Leicester's standing in the league table, as he told reporters:

"

We need another five points. Don't laugh. We need these five points. Let me achieve 40 pts. Then I'll think about the next goal.

"