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LIVE BLOG
90+6min: FULL TIME. 2-2.
90+5min: Great through ball down the left has Leicester in behind with Barnes. His cross hits Rudiger’s hand, and Leicester complain, but the referee say no penalty and VAR agrees, and rightly so.
90+3min: Evans down for treatment. Gets up and gets carded for an earlier foul on Kovačić.
90+1min: Good play by Kovačić gets Chelsea moving forward, but Barkley can’t keep the ball after getting played in by Mount.
90min: 5 minutes added on for some reason.
87min: Kanté wins a corner after weaving through a couple players in the area (!). Mount takes, Rüdiger wins the header, but it’s not dangerous and Leicester clear.
85min: Hudson-Odoi stays down after getting caught by a flailing arm from Chilwell. Carries on after a bit of treatment.
83min: Barkley on for ... Abraham? Willian moves into the center forward position?
81min: Double-change for the home side this time, with Iheanacho on for Vardy and Praet on for Tielemans.
80min: Chelsea survive again as Leicester break behind the backline with Vardy on the right. He plays a perfect ball in for Barnes, who’s left with an easy chance ... which he puts just wide of the far post!
77min: Kovačić hacks down Pérez, who got the better of Rüdiger and was having a run at goal, just outside the area, right of center. Maddison goes for goal, but the wall does their job and deflects it for a corner. Maddison also takes the corner, and Evans’s in acres of space after beating Christensen’s man-marking. But somehow he misses the wide open header and Chelsea survive.
74min: Double change by Lampard, Willian on for Pedro, Kovačić on for Jorginho.
73min: Leicester have a free kick, Rüdiger this time doing the work defensively.
72min: GOAL!!! RÜDIGER AGAIN!!! Mount wins a free kick out wide left. He takes the free kick as well, Rüdiger rises highest again and absolutely powers a header into the top corner. 2-2!!!
69min: Chelsea look down and out, not for the first time this season. Tielemans powers one at goal, Caballero parries and the defense completes the clearance.
64min: Goal. Leicester. Chilwell. Chelsea defense, goalkeeping all at sea after a comfortable period. Where do we even begin? Chilwell finishes with his right foot. 2-1.
61min: James is hacked down by Maddison, who makes no attempt to play the ball and instead rakes his studs down the Achilles of James. Mount overhits the free kick and Schmeichel collects.
56min: Leicester come again after Kanté’s caught on the ball, but Caballero plucks a short cross from Ricardo out of the air. Chelsea try to counter, but Azpi loses the ball. So Leicester counter, and Jorginho stops that with a foul in midfield on Maddison. Jorginho’s booked.
54min: Goal. Leicester. Barnes. The home side respond perfectly with a good move down the left flank, Barnes cutting inside and taking a shot, which deflects off the combination of James and Christensen, and loops over a helpless Caballero in goal. 1-1.
53min: Another good bit of pressing from Chelsea, but another wayward forward pass from Jorginho. Half-opportunities that won’t show up on the statsheet, but still wasted.
52min: Leicester win a corner after Azpi blocks a cross. Maddison takes, Abraham beats Vardy to the ball and the near post to prevent any danger.
50min: Chelsea win the ball with the high press, but Jorginho’s attempted through ball for Abraham is cut out.
48min: Kanté’s called for a foul on Maddison, but Chelsea clear the danger.
47min: GOAL!!! RÜDIGER!!!! Chelsea immediately into the attack, winning a corner. Mount takes it, finding Rüdiger at the far post, AND HE MAKES NO MISTAKE! 1-0, Chelsea!
46min: No changes for either side, as the TV cameras break and we have to watch in a bird’s eye view. No idea what’s going on.
HALF TIME: Plenty of chances at either end. Somehow still 0-0.
45+3min: Somehow there is still time to take the corner, which founds Choudhury on the far post. Fortunately he heads wide of the target.
45+2min: Leicester break as Chelsea’s defense and midfield go missing, but Chelsea are able to slow things down just enough for Kanté to arrive and head clear over his own bar.
45+1min: Caballero goes long from the goal kick, which Abraham knocks down for Mount. Mount returns the pass and Abraham plays it one more wide to Hudson-Odoi, but he can’t quite wrap his foot around it and the shot goes wide.
45min: 2 minutes added on, as Barnes puts in a wayward cross under pressure from James.
43min: Leicester’s turn to attack, but Chelsea defend well in close quarters before Pedro and Mount can run the ball out of danger.
42min: Chelsea come again, and Leicester clear another great James delivery, but only as far Kanté at the top of the box. His shot doesn’t come quickly enough however and the defense can close ranks to block it.
41min: Cross from the left towards Abraham, Soyuncu clears. But Chilwell loses the ball and Chelsea are in with CHO. He plays a ball in, but it’s behind Abraham. Mount’s there, but can’t quite get himself into a good shooting position, and an eventual left-footed effort is blocked.
39min: CHO and James combine well, and the latter delivers a perfect ball. Evans also perfect in clearing over his own bar. Mount takes the inswinging corner, Choudhury half-clears then Schmeichel completes the rest despite the ball rolling out of bounds.
36min: Leicester’s first corner, after Rüdiger blocks a cross, finds Chilwell at the far post. He has time to take it down but puts his shot over the bar with pressure arriving.
35min: Kanté makes a couple good interventions before Chelsea clear long. Abraham pressures Soyuncu and he clears with a high boot, catching Abraham. No call from the referee.
33min: Leicester cut through Chelsea’s right side, as Hudson-Odoi loses Chilwell. His pass inwards to Barnes at the top fo the box is perfect, but his shot is not and it’s well over the bar.
32min: Pedro tries a cheeky chip over Schmeichel, an inch off his line, but the big man easily steps back and tips the ball over for a corner. Mount takes, but it’s easily cleared and Leicester can counter. James covers well to clear for a throw.
30min: Hudson-Odoi bounds through the center, playing wide left to Pedro, who’s absolutely hacked down by Evans, 20 yards out. Mount’s direct free kick is blocked by a jumping wall.
28min: Tielemans is played in behind Chelsea’s backline, but fortunately his cutback only finds Kanté, covering well. Rüdiger then gives the ball away with a chance to counter.
27min: Chelsea’s turn to press and Kanté wins the ball high up, playing in Mount, but he can’t quite weave through three players in the center.
25min: Chelsea lose the ball as Leicester press, and Vardy’s in but Cabellero makes a big save by stacking his legs, hockey goalie style. Chelsea can’t quite settle down at the moment however, giving the ball away again in midfield after CHO and Abraham get in each other’s way. Good cover from Kanté prevents any further danger.
24min: Jorginho’s caught on the ball and suddenly Leicester are in. Christensen covers Vardy well, but Leicester set up shop in the final third. Rüdiger makes two big blocks before James and then Pedro are called for fouls on either flank. Abraham clears the first free kick, while the second free kick is missed by everyone, much to the relief of the Chelsea defense.
22min: Chelsea come again, but can’t quite create a shooting chance despite promising passages fo play.
20min: Pedro plays in Abraham, who’s behind the line but Soyuncu recovers. Abraham tries to cut inside the defender, but goes to ground after the cutback, under apparent contact by the defender. No call from Lee Mason and VAR agrees after a brief check.
18min: Great bit of play up the right channel eventually leads to Azpi cutting a ball back towards Abraham in acres of space, but it’s just a bit behind him and he can’t quite reach back for it with his long legs. Cheslea recycle possession and James whips one in from the right, which just eludes a Chelsea head. More missed chances!
16min: Maddison this time called for a foul on James, sliding in from behind. No yellow in the latest bit of hilarious refereeing.
14min: Hudson-Odoi rides a couple challenges, then has a slightly poor touch that allows Maddison to nip in ahead of him and fall down, getting the call from the referee.
11min: Hudson-Odoi weaves some magic from the right, cutting inside and splitting three before finding Mount for a fantastic chance, which he somehow fires over the bar. He’s saved further embarrassment by an offside flag, but replays show he might have been just onside.
10min: Rüdiger and Vardy clash heads on an aerial 50-50. Cursory inspections later, they’re both cleared to play. What concussion protocol?
8min: Hudson-Odoi hacked down by Choudhury. The free kick’s played wide to James, who puts in a great cross. Evans clears for a corner, which is taken short to Hudson-Odoi. His great cross is headed clear for another corner, on the other side. This one’s played short to Pedro. His cross is not good however, and is over everyone before going out for a goal kick.
5min: The teams trade crap throw-in before a good play from Mount gets Chelsea moving forward. Switch to the left finds Pedro in acres of space and he gallops forward, alongside Azpi who gets the pass. His left-footed low ball across the top of the box is perfect for the arriving Hudson-Odoi, but he completely whiffs on his shot. Chance, that.
3min: An early foray on the right is snuffed out by Rüdiger, while at the other end, Pedro runs into Ricardo, as the two teams feels each other out.
KICK-OFF: Chelsea in the third kit all-blacks with orange socks, Leicester in their home blues with white shorts and blue socks. And we’re off.
Transfer season’s over for a little while, so let’s get back to the football.
And what a way to start it off, with a veritable top-four six-pointer! Both teams want to and need to win, so this could get super tense or super wide open and entertaining. Neither team are in exactly great form at the moment either.
A few bold choices from Lampard today, including starts for Pedro, Caballero (Kepa dropped), and Abraham (let’s hope he’s actually fit). Dropping Kepa will certainly make for some headlines...
Here we go!
Leicester City starting lineup (4-2-3-1):
Schmeichel | Chilwell, Söyüncü, Evans, Ricardo | Tielemans, Choudhury | Barnes, Pérez, Maddison | Vardy
Substitutes from: Ward, Justin, Fuchs, Praet, Gray, Albrighton, Iheanacho
Chelsea starting lineup (4-2-3-1):
Caballero | Azpilicueta (c), Rüdiger, Christensen, James | Jorginho, Kanté | Hudson-Odoi, Mount, Pedro | Abraham
Substitutes from: Arrizabalaga, Tomori, Alonso, Kovačić, Barkley, Willian, Batshuayi
Date / Time: Saturday, February 1, 2020, 12.30 GMT; 7.30am EST; 6pm IST
Venue: King Power Stadium, Leicester
Referee: Lee Mason
On TV: BT Sport 1 (UK); NBCSN, Universo (USA); Star Sports Select HD1 (India); SuperSport 3, Canal+ Sport 2 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: BT Sport Live (UK); NBC Sports Live, Universo Now (USA); Hotstar VIP (India); DStv Now (NGA)
Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes!