City Defeated As 10-Man Chelsea Win At Stamford Bridge
A brace from Raheem Sterling claimed three points for the London outfit, and while Harvey Barnes – on his 150th appearance in all competitions for the Club – reduced the deficit to one goal, City were unable to make their numerical advantage count.
After Tuesday night's Carabao Cup Second Round shootout win away to Stockport County, manager Brendan Rodgers made three changes to his starting XI, with Youri Tielemans, Dennis Praet and Barnes the men to remain.
With 2,956 City fans backing the Foxes in the capital, Rodgers' side duelled from the off with Thomas Tuchel's men. Both defences were on top in the early stages, and it was Danny Ward who would first be called into action as he flew across goal to block a Ruben Loftus-Cheek strike from six yards.
Leicester, wearing their new black away kit for the first time, were putting together good combinations of passes in the Chelsea half, however the hosts were able to defend it well and were in turn enjoying more possession.
Although City's defensive block was happy to absorb that pressure, Chelsea were handed the opportunity to take the lead after Tielemans collided with Loftus-Cheek in his own penalty box. An offside in the build-up, though, meant, after a check by VAR, it would be a free-kick to the Foxes, much to the delight of the away end.
A lovely sliding challenge from captain Jonny Evans prevented Kai Havertz a chance on goal before Timothy Castagne was quickest to the rebound ahead of Marc Cucurella. A stoppage in play saw Evans require treatment on the pitch, and thankfully, the Northern Ireland international was able to continue.
Leicester were defiant at the back, and after James Justin was able to clear a Cucurella corner at the near post, Barnes sprinted through midfield with the loose ball and was brought down by Conor Gallagher, who received his second yellow of the match and was dismissed on 28 minutes after an earlier challenge on Dewsbury-Hall. The No.22 was also booked moments later for a late tackle on Cucurella.
A pin-point corner from Tielemans saw Barnes strike the upright and then Daniel Amartey scramble the ball over the line, however the goal was chalked off after the No.7 was adjudged to have fouled Édouard Mendy, although replays appeared to suggest otherwise.
At the other end, Reece James slammed a half-volley onto Ward's left-hand post, while a huge goalscoring opportunity presented itself to Jamie Vardy on the stroke of half-time, but he couldn't find the net after latching onto Tielemans' well-weighted pass.
With seconds of the first half left, Édouard Mendy rushed off his line to deny Castagne after the Belgium international full-back had received a pass from fellow countryman Tielemans. That brought to an end an action-packed first 45 minutes of Premier League football at Stamford Bridge.
To bolster his defence, Tuchel replaced Mason Mount with Cesar Azpilicueta at the break, while Leicester were unchanged for the second half. With only a minute gone, though, Sterling's shot looped up off Amartey and over Ward to put Chelsea 1-0 up. It was a bitter blow for Leicester, who had laid the foundations in the first half to mount a charge for all three points. Now, they would have to recover from a one-goal deficit.
Cucurella combined with Sterling once again on 51 minutes, however this time, he hit the inside of the post and City were able to clear. Then, Tielemans had a shot blocked and Castagne nodded over at the far stick – there was no telling who would net the next goal.
Rodgers freshened his forward line up 10 minutes into the second period, with Ayoze Pérez and Kelechi Iheanacho coming on and Praet and Soumaré making way. Nigeria international Iheanacho was involved straight away as his low effort was halted before it could trouble Édouard Mendy.
An encouraging run from Iheanacho saw him glide through the Chelsea midfield and towards the edge of the area, where he picked out Barnes with a short pass, however the Academy graduate couldn't keep his attempt down. That proved costly, with James locating Sterling at the far post for 2-0, leaving Leicester just over 25 minutes to claim something from the match.
City rallied and four minutes later they halved 10-man Chelsea's advantage with a well-worked goal. Barnes played a neat one-two with Vardy and slotted in past Édouard Mendy to give his side hope of a comeback.
In search of a leveller, Iheanacho bent wide from 20 yards out before Thiago Silva stood in the way of Tielemans' drive. Momentum was now with the visiting outfit, who were still tasked with defending as Justin stopped a James drive from range.
With 73 minutes gone, Barnes tried to squeeze another strike in past Édouard Mendy, who was able to cling onto the attempt. A turnover in midfield then allowed Tielemans to find Iheanacho, but the No.14 side-footed wide under pressure.
Leicester were edging closer to an equaliser, with Vardy racing onto Tielemans' lofted pass and testing Édouard Mendy, who pulled off a good stop to deny the No.9. Next, Pérez lifted into Vardy with seven minutes to go, and after rounding the Chelsea 'keeper, he could only find the side-netting.
City came even closer on 87 minutes, with Amartey feeding Pérez, but the Spaniard's shot cannoned off the underside of the crossbar and the Blues were able to clear the danger.
After Wilfred Ndidi came off the bench to replace Tielemans, an additional four minutes meant there would still be time for the Foxes to restore parity in injury time. Although a string of set-plays followed for the visitors, they were unable to capitalise and the points went to Chelsea.
Major moment – Chelsea's first
Momentum was with City heading into the interval, but they were dealt a blow just two minutes after the break when Raheem Sterling's shot deflected over Danny Ward. That plotted the course for the second period, with Sterling adding a second. Harvey Barnes pulled a goal back, then Ayoze Pérez struck the woodwork, but it wasn't to be and City headed back to Leicester empty handed.
Where do we stand – 19th
After matchday no.4 of the 2022/23 Premier League campaign, the Foxes occupy 19th position in the division.
Coming up – Manchester United (H)
A midweek clash with Erik ten Hag's Manchester United comes on Thursday 1 September (8pm kick-off) at King Power Stadium, before a trip to Brighton & Hove Albion's AMEX Stadium three days later (2pm kick-off).
The details...
All times BST.