Chelsea 2-1 Leicester (Gallagher red card 28′, Sterling 47′, 63′ | Barnes 66′)
STAMFORD BRIDGE — Raheem Sterling’s brace helped Chelsea to a 2-1 win over Leicester despite the Blues being reduced to 10 men for the second Premier League game in a row following Conor Gallagher’s red card.
After initially failing to break down a resilient Foxes in spite of Wesley Fofana’s absence in defence – the centre-back is expected to move to Stamford Bridge in a £70m deal in the coming days – immediately after half-time Sterling was given ample time on the edge of the box by Fofana’s temporary replacement Daniel Amartey, with Danny Ward unable to track his looping shot.
Sterling then managed to evade Timothy Castagne as he latched onto Reece James’ low cross to double the hosts’ lead – though that lasted just three minutes as Harvey Barnes quickly pulled one back after a clever touch on from Jamie Vardy. With Leicester unable to find the equaliser, the result leaves them winless after four games as pressure mounts on Brendan Rodgers.
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From that vantage point, he likely won’t have spotted Kai Havertz’s marginal offside in the build-up to Chelsea believing they had won a penalty when Ruben Loftus-Cheek was bundled over in an arm wrestle with Youri Tielemans. The move had started with Loftus-Cheek in his own half, a long ball to Havertz giving him time to race into the box, but the eventual result was overturned by VAR after Paul Tierney had pointed to the spot.
Loftus-Cheek had already spurned their best chance of the opening exchanges, though when Sterling’s ball cut through three defenders it was possibly a greater reflection of a Leicester’s makeshift new backline than any incisiveness on Chelsea’s part.
And they soon found themselves a man down when Gallagher was dismissed for hauling down Harvey Barnes having already been booked for a foul on Kieran Dewsbury-Hall. The England international is yet to complete 90 minutes this season after being taken off during the 3-0 defeat at Leeds and concerningly, it is the second time in as many weeks that Chelsea have finished the game with reduced numbers after Kalidou Koulibaly’s dismissal at Elland Road.
Leicester thought they had made them pay and they had the ball in the net, only for the goal to be disallowed for Barnes’ foul on Edouard Mendy.
Tuchel’s men had other opportunities, Reece James striking the outside of the post and the Marc Cucurella-Sterling combination very nearly paying off just minutes after the latter’s goal – but Sterling could only hit the woodwork second time around.
Chelsea player ratings
Mendy 7 – Might have “done another Leeds” with some ambitious playing out from the back, but no howlers this time – and a pivotal save closing down Vardy on the stroke of half-time
James 7.5 – Coped with the threat of James Justin and came close to scoring with a shot that ricocheted off the outside of the post, before assisting Sterling’s second
Thiago Silva 8 – Negated the need for another centre-back addition, as ever. Composed and largely kept Vardy at bay
Chalobah 7 – His first start of the season and barely put a foot wrong in filling in for the suspended Koulibaly
Cucurella 7 In the long run, will offer a threat from set pieces but was responsible for a few poor corners and bad first touches. Recovered from a nasty collision with Mendy at the interval to assist Sterling’s goal
Gallagher 3 – Started brightly, closing down Soumare and halting Barnes’ counter – but after being booked for bringing down Dewsbury-Hall, the challenge on Barnes was ill-thought-out. Won’t have convinced Tuchel one bit
Jorginho 7 – The only real link-up between defence and Sterling but is having to sit deep in the absence of another defensive midfielder
Loftus-Cheek 7.5 – Chelsea’s most positive player in the first half, won the overturned penalty and was a persistent threat – but also hit a great chance straight at Ward
Mount 5 – Had to move out wide after Gallagher’s red card to allow Loftus-Cheek to fill in through the middle and was then taken off at half-time
Havertz 5 Wwould have had a shoo-in chance to open the scoring, but Sterling overhit the pass. Grew into the game but also guilty of some poor touches, scuppering a chance with a foul on Justin
Sterling 8 – A hugely important couple of goals for his Chelsea career, not least because they were such different finishes. Could have provided the breakthrough much earlier but for the lack of a focal point in attack
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Ward 6 – Made a superb save to deny Sterling and the first goal was slightly too far in the corner for him to do much about
Castagne 5 – Should have done better for the second goal when he seemed to completely lose track of Sterling
Evans 7 – Leicester can’t rely on him going forward given his injury record, but offered the most resistance with a few decent blocks
Amartey 5 – A huge amount of pressure on Amartey’s shoulders in the absence of the outgoing Fofana, and even more so with Caglar Soyuncu on the bench. Allowed Sterling to dance in front of him for the opener
Justin 7 – A great contest with James and one of Leicester’s biggest threats from out wide
Dewsbury-Hall 6 – Got away with one marginal foul but then booked for a nasty two-footer on Cucurella brilliant ball out to Justin on the left
Praet 4 – Apart from a foul on Sterling in a dangerous area, did little of note and was taken off before the hour mark
Soumare 7 – Unclear why he was starting but while he was dispossessed early, that was a rare error and he shouldn’t have been taken off
Tielemans 6 – Fortunate the penalty was overturned for offside but was otherwise solid in the middle. Looked to have picked up an injury
Barnes 7.5 – Aside from the goal, provided a last-ditch tackle to deny Loftus-Cheek and successfully upset Chelsea’s midfield
Vardy 6.5 – Decent hold-up play but couldn’t get contact on his best chance which he put into the side netting at 2-1 down. Assisted Barnes’ goal
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