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Leicester manager Ruud van Nistelrooy made changes in personel and system for the Chelsea away game at Stamford Bridge. Luke Thomas and Patson Daka were both given starts. Jordan Ayew and Bobby De Cordova-Reid on the bench. Facundo Bounanotte also had to see himself on the bench, giving Conor Coady a chance again.
Fans eagerly wanted to see something happen. Early on, Chelsea put massive pressure on Leicester. They struggled to get out of their own penalty area.
Luke Thomas was lucky early on, not being punished for his tackle. He played in a three men back line, having Kristiansen and Justin out wide as flank men on each side. This worked well as a change in approach. At least it kept Chelsea from scoring goals in the first 20 minutes.
But then after 21 minutes it was time for a new clown act from Victor Kristiansen. A clumsy approach made it impossible for the referee to ignore this fatal moment resulting in a Chelsea penalty. Luckily, Cole Palmer had a bad day at the office. Mads Hermansen made a terrific save from that soft and bad shot from the Chelsea striker.
From then on and out until the break, Leicester looked more solid than in a long time. However, they were still not able to set any momentum. Chelsea had the pressure and should have scored. Mads Hermansen was on duty today, upsetting the opponents forwards.
Gave our all, but a tight defeat.#CHELEI pic.twitter.com/Av1P6yqwLn
— Leicester City (@LCFC) March 9, 2025
Leicester started brightly second half, having momentum, and also testing Chelsea’s goalkeeper on occassions. But instead of a Leicester goal, Chelsea had that special quality to convert.
Leicester are not on the correct foot at the moment. Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka was not getting enough service and they were both far from scoring in the game. A Chelsea defender headed the ball, hitting the bar. Vardy was unable to find the net on the second ball.
Instead as often happens when the weaker team do not score, the opponent finds the net. Cuccurelli had a brilliant game and his shot was not blocked from anyone. Mads Hermansen never had a chance to save as he had far from a perfect view. He probably did not see the shot fired. He had no time to get down to save the attempt. Chelsea were 1-0 up after 60 minutes.
The game then opened up more, but Leicester were not sharp enough to get that goal. Chelsea kept their lead and picked up all three points. Anything else would have been a great bonus and a major surprise. This game was one to build on and to see some changes done, was good.
Leicester will play Man Utd at home in their next fixture. Hopefully at least a point will be possible to pick up from this one. The game will be played Sunday the 16th of March.
PositivesRuud van Nistelrooy making changes to the line up and system to see some promise
Mads Hermansen saving a penalty
A fighting spirit among players
NegativesNot able to convert
Wout Faes not going for a block on Cuccurella shot
Player Ratings: Hermansen 7, Coady 6, Kristiansen 4, Faes 4, Thomas 5, Justin 4, El Khannouss 4, Vardy 5, Soumare 4, Ndidi 5, Daka 4 Subs: Bounanotte, Mavididi, Winks, De Cordova-Reid, Pereira
Leicester City, Man of the MatchMads Hermansen
Match Stats (H/A)
Possession: 57 / 43
Shots on Target: 7 / 3
Corners: 12 / 2
Fouls: 12 / 13
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