As far as Chelsea is concerned, this season cannot come soon enough. They finished third, but this is a club in desperate need of a new beginning. Everything appears to be disorganised.
There are holes in Thomas Tuchel’s defence, his offence remains vexing, and there is concern that nothing will move until Todd Boehly’s consortium has finally put a stop to the Roman Abramovich period.
The clock is ticking. Stamford Bridge will not be full again until Abramovich leaves, and it was simple to see why Chelsea is trailing Manchester City and Liverpool during their match with Leicester, who gained a point mostly because their opponents are so direct in front of goal.
The statistics were terrible. Tuchel’s team had 20 shots, but only seven were on goal. It’s no surprise that they’ve only won one of their last six home games. The problem, as Tuchel pointed out, is that Chelsea continues to inconvenience themselves.
So, lets look at how the match unfolded!
Story of the match
Leicester took the lead after only six minutes. The laxity was exemplified by Alonso allowing a clearing from Kasper Schmeichel to reach Timothy Castagne on the right flank. When Antonio Rüdiger cut out Castagne’s cross, there was still no reaction, and nobody sensed danger when the ball went to Maddison.
Brendan Rodgers hailed Schmeichel’s distribution as Tuchel was fuming. There are concerns over the Dane’s future, but his importance to Leicester cannot be overstated. He was immediately back in the action, denying Trevoh Chalobah an immediate equaliser.
Chelsea became agitated. The fans erupted when Alonso, who is expected to join Barcelona this summer, hesitated when he went through on goal, allowing Daniel Amartey to recover.
However, Leicester’s front two of Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho were isolated, and the equaliser came when Reece James expertly picked out Alonso. The Spaniard’s volley demonstrated his more powerful side.
Chelsea seized command. During the second half, Leicester provided nothing. Vardy was bound, and Rüdiger was in command. When he joins Real Madrid, Chelsea will miss him.
The rebuilding of the defence will be difficult. Andreas Christensen, who was once again not involved, is on his way to Barcelona, who is also interested in César Azpilicueta.
This is not a settled squad. N’Golo Kanté was a driving presence in midfield but his contract expires next year and injuries are a concern. “He is our key player and if he only plays 40% of the games then it is maybe a miracle we arrive in third place,” Tuchel said of the 31-year-old. “He is our Salah, our De Bruyne, our Neymar, our Mbappé. It’s hard to live with. He starts getting rhythm and then is out again.”