Chelsea vs Leicester 5 Things We Learned

1. Chelsea aren’t going to walk the league

After Chelsea’s astounding performance away at Burnely on Monday night, people were already coming to the conclusion that Chelsea would walk the league. Leicester put this belief to bed however as their performance at Stamford Bridge highlighted that Chelsea is by no means a perfect side. Chelsea in the first half looked abject and struggled to conjure up any rhythm. As well as this there midfield was getting bypassed all too easily at times as Leicester exploited vacated space time and time again. Against a better side they could have been punished; food for thought for Jose Mourinho.

2. Eden Hazard is still the go to man

New signings Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas have been receiving all the attention for Chelsea so far. The two have slotted in perfectly and are believed to be the men to guide Chelsea to their first league title in five years. Eden Hazard kind of went into the shadows and took a back seat amid all this talk. The Belgian deservedly got the entire spotlight last season and made sure he wasn’t forgotten on Saturday. Although Costa scored and Fabregas had a decent game it was Hazard who was Chelsea’s creative force against Leicester. His well taken goal highlighted that he is still the driving attacking threat in this Chelsea side and the man resort to when on the ropes.

3. Diego Costa is exactly what Chelsea need

Chelsea’s biggest deterrent last season was there lack of an out and out goal scorer. Neither one of Demba Ba, Samuel Eto’o or Fernando Torres could provide Chelsea will regular goals. The arrival of Diego Costa a man in in the prime of his career has changed that now. Costa has already scored in both games this season and a remarkable stat shows that he has done so while only having two shots on target. This is what Chelsea has been crying out for since the departure of Didier Drogba. Already this early in the season you can see Costa is exactly what Chelsea were missing last season. The manner in which he took his two goals shows that, he is a poacher who can survive by living off crumbs but when he gets his chance he takes it. He floated in and out against Leicester but when the opportunity arose he expertly dispatched it. Chelsea’s £32 million signing also showed he is more than a goal scorer; he held up the ball well and took up countless positions that ignited attacks. The early signs are immensely encouraging

4. Ivanovic is one of the best defenders in the league

When you talk about the best defenders in the league Branislav Ivanovic doesn’t always get mentioned, but he should. Not only is versatile in being able to play both right back and centre back, but he is great going forward as he showed against Leicester on Saturday. The Serb got forward at every chance that arose and showcased his attacking prowess in three attacks that I’ll point out. The first one was the crucial assist for Costa’s goal, as he charged forward from right back he displayed his technique when he executed a perfectly timed fake shot dropping two defenders before putting the ball on a plate for Costa. The next one being his incredible heading ability as he was denied a thumping header by Schemical, lastly he showed has a thunderous shot on him producing another great save by Schemical.

5. Chelsea needs to tie Courtois down

Thibaut Courtois showed everyone was he is so highly rated against Leicester. The Belgian is so accomplished at such a young age. The debate between who should start between him and Cech was firmly put to rest as the 22 year old kept Chelsea in the game. Composed when he was asked to deal with balls in the box he best displayed his quality when Chelsea needed him most. At 0-0 Nugent broke away and was free were he looked certain to score but only to be denied by Courtouis. With only two years reaming on his contract Chelsea should be in a hurry to tie him down and offer him a new deal fast.