Alonso arrow helps Blues limp to third
THIS PLACE could look rather different by the time Chelsea return in the summer, a few weeks into their journey out of the Roman Abramovich regime. It should be full for a start. Chelsea will have new owners, too. They will be free from sanctions and have a new-look defence.
Provided Marcos Alonso survives the winds of change, however, at least one constant will straddle the two eras: a capacity to combine the brilliant and the brainless.
Last night against Leicester, it was the defender’s lapse in concentration that sparked an attack which ended with James Maddison netting a sublime early strike.
And then, it was Alonso’s lovely volley that earned Chelsea the point which secures them third place. They really should have taken all three. Unfortunately Christian Pulisic has a habit of clattering between extremes, too.
There were few flashes of his quality here, mind. Only a second-half miss that had him hitting the Chelsea bench when substituted a few minutes after. And so Chelsea suffer another blip at Stamford Bridge.
They have the worst home record of anyone in the top seven this season. That could do with changing when they return, too.
A chunk of the Shed End went black before kick-off, hidden under a giant new banner unfurled in honour of Thomas Tuchel. Deutscher Maestro it read, above an image of Tuchel’s beaming face.
Alas, within a few minutes, the man himself was a picture of spitting rage. Maddison took the goal brilliantly but Leicester’s opener came only after Timothy Castagne slipped through Alonso’s blindspot on to a long ball from Kasper Schmeichel. His square pass was deflected into the path of Maddison, who skipped past Thiago Silva before firing beyond Edouard Mendy from outside the area.
Few inside Stamford Bridge had a better view than Todd Boehly, watching from the posh seats alongside other members of the consortium soon to take over this place. Their first job? Help Tuchel rebuild his backline.
It was no surprise Andreas Christensen was left out after his late withdrawal from the FA Cup final. That looks set to be his final bow.
Alonso, however, was given a chance at redemption within half an hour. And how he took it. From Reece James’ clipped cross, the Spaniard volleyed in beautifully.
Chelsea could have had a few by then. Hakim Ziyech flashed a shot wide before Trevoh Chalobah’s long-range drive forced Schmeichel into a brilliant one-handed save. Romelu Lukaku found himself in on goal at one point, too, but the striker dithered, allowing Daniel Amartey to intervene.
No such openings for Jamie Vardy. Only taunts. ‘Your wife is a grass,’ the home crowd chanted before shouting ‘Rooney, Rooney.’ What else could cut through tribal loyalties as effectively as the Wagatha Christie trial?
Those chants resurfaced after the break, just as Chelsea were banging down the Leicester door.
Lukaku headed wide from a Ziyech cross before the striker laid on the glorious chance for Pulisic. From Lukaku’s low cross, Pulisic found himself a few yards out, the goal gaping. Somehow he American skewed an effort well wide.
He was off soon but Chelsea came again — Schmeichel saved from Antonio Rudiger, who then flirted with a red card, flying in two footed to block a clearance from Wesley Fofana.
Stuart Atwell decided yellow would suffice but even with 11 men Chelsea couldn’t find a winner.
CHELSEA (3-4-3): Mendy 6; Chalobah 6.5, Silva 6, Rudiger 6.5; James 7.5, Jorginho 6.5, Kante 6.5 (Loftus-Cheek 72min, 6.5), Alonso 6; Ziyech 6.5, Lukaku 6 (Havertz 78), Pulisic 4 (Azpilicueta 72, 6). Scorer: Alonso 34. Booked: Kante, Lukaku, Rudiger, Jorginho. Manager: Thomas Tuchel 6. LEICESTER CITY (3-5-2): Schmeichel 7; Fofana 7, Evans 6.5, Amartey 6; Castagne 7, MADDISON 8, Mendy 6, Dewsbury-Hall 6.5, Thomas 6; Vardy 5 (Perez 78), Iheanacho 5 (Barnes 64, 6). Scorer: Maddison 6. Booked: Evans. Manager: Brendan Rodgers 6.5. Referee: Stuart Attwell 6.5. Attendance: 31,782.