Chelsea 1-1 Leicester City: 5 Men who were poor for the Blues
Chelsea welcomed Leicester City to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, desperate for their first win of the season. New manager Frank Lampard had experienced an inauspicious start to life as Maurizio Sarri's successor.
The Englishman had faced defeat in both of his two competitive games as a Chelsea boss so far. A humiliating 4-0 loss at the hands of Manchester United in the Premier League last weekend was followed by a narrow defeat against Liverpool in the UEFA Supercup.
But not everything was gloom and cloudy for the Blues. Lampard's team had shown encouraging signs in both games and had stretched the European Champions Liverpool to the penalty shootouts in the Supercup. However, Leicester City represented an entirely different proposition on Sunday.
The Foxes might have lost their defensive stalwart Harry Maguire to Manchester United, but still had enough firepower in the team to unsettle a disoriented Chelsea backline. However, Lampard was aware that one win could change the mood at the club and he named his team accordingly.
The Englishman started with Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal, with Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Kurt Zouma and Emerson as the back four. In the midfield, N'Golo Kante was stationed alongside Jorginho, while Mason Mount played in the No. 10 role. The front three consisted of Pedro, Christian Pulisic and Olivier Giroud.
The home side started the game on fire, pressing Leicester City to the wall and scoring early through Mason Mount. The first half ended with the score 1-0 in Chelsea's favour, but the away side were already knocking on the door. Leicester City ultimately scored the equalizer through Wilfred Ndidi and the game ended 1-1.
While Frank Lampard will be frustrated by the collective failure of his entire team, these 5 men were especially poor for Chelsea on the night.
#5 Andreas Christensen
After taking the lead early in the game, Chelsea was expected to score a few more as the game progressed. Unfortunately, the Blues failed to build upon their fantastic start and allowed Leicester to grow in confidence.
Every time the away side knocked on the door, Chelsea looked fragile at the back. Andreas Christensen was especially poor in defence and was guilty of having an off day. The Danish defender failed to deal with the Leicester pressure and looked tensed and nervous with the ball at his feet.
Ultimately, poor defending cost Chelsea a win, as Leicester City scored the equalizer from a set-piece. Christensen’s lacklustre performance in the centre back position should be a cause of concern for Frank Lampard.