A Cesc Fabregas penalty gave the Blues the lead in Guus Hiddink’s final game as Chelsea manager but victory was denied by a late strike from the freshly crowned champions.
The opening goal came in the second half when Nemanja Matic was upended during an Eden Hazard-inspired attack but with time running out, Danny Drinkwater saved Leicester from what would have been their fourth league defeat of the season when he found the net from long range.
It was an entertaining game to conclude the season at Stamford Bridge, with the Foxes man at the back Kasper Schmeichel doing much to keep it scoreless prior to the interval.
Chelsea substitute Tammy Abraham went as close to winning the match as anyone late on and there was a debut for another Academy product Fikayo Tomori when he was introduced from the bench.
For his final Chelsea team selection, Hiddink was able to recall his first-choice keeper Thibaut Courtois after illness kept the Belgian out against Liverpool, and vice-captain Branislav Ivanovicfollowing injury. He went into central defence alongside Gary Cahill in place of stand-in John Mikel Obi. John Terry was continuing his suspension.
Those two changes were the only ones from the draw at Anfield so Bertrand Traore again spearheaded an attack ahead of freshly crowned Chelsea Player of the Year Willian, plus Goal of the Season winner Eden Hazard and Pedro.
The Leicester team was read out on the pitch by Alan Birchenall, the former Chelsea and Leicester striker who usually performs that role at their home games, and he was able to include the name of Drinkwater who was back in midfield following suspension, playing alongside former Chelsea schoolboy Andy King. Marcin Wasilewski continued in central defence with another former Blue Robert Huth suspended. There was a start for Demarai Gray and a rare change to his formation made by the erstwhile ‘Tinkerman’ with Leicester adopting a 4-1-4-1 shape.
A Chelsea guard of honour welcomed the new champions on to the pitch for the game and following their players came Claudio Ranieri. On behalf of Chelsea Football Club, a special presentation was made to our former manager by his former player Carlo Cudicini. The affection for Ranieri from the stands was clear, as it was for John Terry with our captain currently considering his future following the offer of a contract extension.
A new ‘Proper Chels’ JT banner was displayed in the Shed before kick-off and on 26 minutes the Bridge rose in applause and song for the skipper, which he acknowledge from his watching position behind the Chelsea bench.
He later spoke on the pitch to thank the fans especially for their support this season and to say farewell to Hiddink and he was lifted into the air by his team-mates.
In the early stages of the game there was a shout for a Leicester handball in the box when Willianchipped the ball in, but the fact Christian Fuchs was in the process of putting his arms behind him must have convinced referee Craig Pawson not to give a penalty.
Pedro whipped in a sixth-minute shot from the left that went very close to opening the scoring and Fabregas hit a free-kick into the Foxes wall after Traore had been bundled over by N’Golo Kante. It was a bright-ish start by Chelsea on a sunny day although Jamie Vardy fired a warning shot across Courtois‘s goal.
Midway through the half, Vardy would beat Courtois in the race for a ball chipped behind the Blues back line but could not send the ball on target.
It was Courtois‘s opposite number Kasper Schmeichel who was scrabbling around his area twice in quick succession soon after, the first occasion when Pedro had deceived him but Traore‘s eventual shot was blocked and the next time when the Danish keeper was floored, Traore sliced his shot.
Schmeichel saved at the near post from Fabregas and Vardy had a shot deflected wide as the two teams continued to punch and counter-punch. Traore then slipped when a chance for a close-range strike was falling his way.
The Leicester keeper got down very sharply to keep out a Willian shot after an exchange of passes with Fabregas and was increasingly the difference between the sides when he back-peddled rapidly to keep out a deflected Baba shot. He denied Fabregas once again and when Ivanovic was alert to Schmeichel starting a Leicester counter-attack, our defender’s intervention eventually led to Pedro putting the ball in the net but the offside flag was raised correctly.
Ranieri made two changes for the start of the second half, reverting to 4-4-2 by introducing Jeffrey Schlupp and Shinji Okazaki for King and Gray, and Hiddink made two switches of his own eight minutes in with youngsters Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham on for Pedro and Traore.
There was immediately a chase on for Abraham when a long pass caught Leicester a little flat-footed but Wes Morgan got across in time to cut out the threat.
Academy Player of the Year Fikayo Tomori (pictured below) was handed his senior debut on the hour. The 18-year-old was asked to play right-back and with Ivanovic the player coming off, Cesar Azpilicueta moved into central defence.
Abraham managed a shot on target from a wide position before being involved in the move that led to the breaking of the deadlock.
Hazard, who had yet to shine in this game as he had done in his most recent outings, took the game by the scruff of the neck with a run past Leicester player after Leicester player before squaring to Abraham. The 18-year-old centre-forward swivelled, had his shot blocked butNemanja Matic gathered the ball, only to be taken down by an ill-advised slide by Schlupp.
Fabregas duly dispatched the penalty and the Blues had the lead with a third of the game to go.
Leicester responded as would be expected from the team at the top, although their territorial advantage was not being turned into chances. Riyad Mahrez shot tamely at Courtois and Kante curled an attempt well over.
Instead their equaliser came rather out of the blue, Drinkwater, some 30 yards out catching a shot as clean as a whistle and thundering it past Courtois‘s dive and into the bottom corner of the Shed End net.
With added time beginning, Abraham gave the crowd a taste of what has made him such a dangerous striker in junior football with a run and shot that curled only just the wrong side of the post.
- Match stats:
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Ivanovic (c) (Tomori) Baba; Fabregas, Matic; Pedro (Loftus-Cheek 53), Willian, Hazard; Traore (Abraham 53).
Unused subs Begovic, Kenedy, Pato.
Scorer Fabregas pen 67
Leicester (4-1-4-1): Schmeichel: Simpson, Wasilewski, Morgan (c), Fuchs; Kante; Mahrez (Albrighton 80), Drinkwater, King (Schlupp h-t), Gray (Okazaki h-t); Vardy.
Unused subs Schwarzer, Amartey, Ulloa, Chilwell.
Scorer Drinkwater 82
Referee Craig Pawson
Crowd 41,494
- Match report
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