CHELSEA....... 3 LEICESTER..... 0
CONTE BOYS PUT ON A SHOW TO BACK THEIR BOSS
CRISIS? What crisis? If Antonio Conte was on the ropes then he truly bounced back off them yesterday.
The Chelsea manager (below) defied odds of being made favourite for the sack by slapping down the current champions – and former Blues boss Claudio Ranieri. Bookies had slashed Conte’s odds from 44-1 to 3-1 within a few hours on Friday but his reply was emphatic. His fired-up team came out punching – although he could have done without them slackening off a little in the second half. He said: “I am a very happy man. I changed the system because we had conceded a lot. Now we must continue our work.” Conte also played down a rift with Diego Costa, who ke p t asking to come off holding a hamstring. He added: “I make t he decisions on our substitutions, not players. This has happened before but it is my decision. I was losing my voice in the end. I thought we were good, we were aggressive when we had the ball.”
Chelsea started like warriors and few answered the call better than striking heavyweight Costa.
The Blues’ one-man wrecking ball found the net yet again to light the touchpaper on a performance many thought was beyond Conte’s team.
Costa was ably supported by a team that attacked from all angles and had Eden Hazard, Victor Moses and leggy left-back Marcos Alonso to pick Leicester’s defensive locks.
Chelsea got off to a flying start with a strike in the seventh minute.
Costa turned in his seventh goal of the season after Nemanja Matic cleverly flicked on a Moses corner.
In truth, Kasper Schmeichel should probably have done better but the majority within Stamford Bridge could not have cared less.
The Spain striker currently has the best goals-per-game ratio – 1.60 – of any Chelsea player in Premier League history.
He celebrated by holding his hands in a ‘W’ shape – in a salute to team-mate Willian, missing because of the death of his mother back in Brazil. Hazard, who also gestured when he scored later in the game, said: “We all feel for Willie. Losing your mother is hard.
“We were all thinking of him, that is why we made the signs. It is so sad. Hopefully, he will come back stronger.”
A relieved Conte added: “The players dedicated their goals to Willian and I dedicate the game.
“Willian is a fantastic guy and we are thinking of him and his family.”
Leicester arrived having won only once in 25 attempts at Stamford Bridge since October 1965 and Chelsea almost inflicted more damage when David Luiz struck the crossbar with a fierce 30-yard free-kick.
It was inevitable Chelsea would eventually make another breakthrough.
It came when Matic, imperious in midfield, surged forward and threaded a pass that bounced off Robert Huth.
The ball looped high in the air, only for Pedro to somehow flick it into the path of Hazard, who waltzed round Schmeichel for Chelsea’s second in the 35th minute.
Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante, playing against the club he helped win the title, was booed at the start – but by the end Leicester fans had given up.
Ranieri’s Foxes, thinking ahead to Tuesday’s Champions League clash against FC Copenhagen, started without Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani. It was a move that backfired and inevitably both were finally forced to come on.
The Leicester boss said: “I would make the same decision again. We gave away two strange goals, one again from a set-piece and we are doing this too often. But I am not worried. I know my job.”
Jamie Vardy suffered from a lack of his usual supply of long passes and often looked a lonely figure in attack.
The visitors had a better second half but that was not saying much because it was more a case of Chelsea allowing their grip to slip, which had Conte fuming on the touchline.
At least he had Hazard always trying something different with his sublime skills – he looks a different player to last season.
Leicester skipper Wes Morgan blocked a certain goal from Kante in the 73rd minute after Costa had crossed and forced Schmeichel to push out with his legs.
The visitors’ best effort was supplied by Luiz, who turned a 63rd-minute cross from Marc Albrighton on to his own post.
Ranieri added: “Chelsea played well, much better than us in the first half. We changed things and might have scored but the truth is they were the better side. For them it was very easy.
“We miss Kante but you cannot look back. We reacted after the first half, now we must react on Tuesday and concentrate on beating Copenhagen in the Champions League.”
Chelsea had started with gusto – and finished in style, too. Sub Nathaniel Chalobah cleverly sent Moses clear to score Chelsea’s third.
Kit suppliers Nike are to invest £900million in Chelsea over the next 15 years. They must have enjoyed watching the first return.