Chelsea cruised past Leicester City at King Power Stadium to record a third successive victory and their first on the road since October last year.
The Blues started the Premier League game on the front foot, piling early pressure on the Foxes that eventually paid off after just 11 minutes.
Ben Chilwell returned to hunt his former employers when he met a Kalidou Koulibaly cross with a cleanly struck volley that powered through a crowd of bodies to stun a previously loud King Power into silence.
Joao Felix came within inches of adding a second, displaying excellent close control to bring down a Kai Havertz through ball, but his chipped effort bounced off the far post and away from danger.
The Foxes came close to levelling the tie through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, but his deflected shot from long range only found the crossbar, with Kepa Arrizabalaga left stranded.
A sweeping move from the Blues ended with Felix slotting home a low cross from Ruben Loftus-Cheek, but their celebrations were cut short after VAR ruled the goal offside.
After seeing their blushes spared by VAR, Leicester took full advantage just five minutes later as Patson Daka capitalised on an error by Felix to smash home a lovely effort from the edge of the box.
However, parity did not last long as Chelsea restored their lead on the brink of halftime when a lofted pass from Enzo Fernandez was sumptuously finished off by Kai Havertz.
After the break, the Foxes hunted for another equaliser and came close to levelling the tie again, but a goal-line clearance spared Chelsea’s blushes.
Yet another goal ruled out for offside kept the Foxes in the contest as Mykhailo Mudryk was denied his first Premier League strike.
However, the Ukraine international proved decisive not long after as his cushioned header set up Mateo Kovacic, who volleyed home to establish a two-goal lead for the Blues.
Wout Faes’ late sending off for a second bookable offence made seeing out the tie easier for Chelsea as Graham Potter’s men cruised to a well-deserved victory that moved them to within five points of the top-five.
Leicester City
Danny Ward (5/10) – Was caught out for the first goal but could do nothing about the subsequent two. Made some impressive saves to keep his side in the contest after the break.
Daniel Amartey (4/10) – Did little to stop Chelsea’s free-flowing attack and played Havertz onside for the second goal.
Harry Souttar (5/10) – Gave almost nothing away and bullied Mudryk, who was playing through the middle for most of the game. A solid showing.
Wout Faes (2/10) – His aggressive defending saw him caught out of position a little too often. Given his marching orders with a few minutes to go for a second yellow card.
Ricardo Pereira (5/10) – Got away with a nasty challenge on Felix in the opening few minutes and was fortunate to be on the pitch to assist Daka’s equaliser.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (6/10) – Was one of the better players in a brave Leicester side. Was unfortunate to see his deflected effort strike the post, but the Englishman put in a solid performance in the middle of the park.
Nampalys Mendy (6/10) – Put in an impressive midfield display for Leicester.
Timothy Castagne (5/10) – Got forward a lot but struggled to keep pace with Loftus-Cheek.
James Maddison (7/10) – Arguably the most dangerous Leicester player on the pitch. Dictated play and was unlucky not to record a goal contribution.
Kelechi Iheanacho (5/10) – The only positive from a near-invincible performance was his selfless movement that created things for those around him.
Patson Daka (7/10) – Was a handful for the Chelsea backline and delivered a sublime finish to go with an energetic performance.
Substitutes
Tete (3/10)
Harvey Barnes (4/10)
Boubacary Soumare (4/10)
Jamie Vardy (4/10)
Jonny Evans (N/A)
Chelsea
Kepa Arrizabalaga (6/10) – Was called into a couple of saves but rose to the occasion. Could do nothing about Daka’s goal but was guilty of being careless at times.
Wesley Fofana (6/10) – Was a little shaky on his return to King Power, but the raucous reception did little to thwart his performance.
Kalidou Koulibaly (7/10) – Capped off another delightful performance with a surprise assist for Chilwell’s opener.
Marc Cucurella (7/10) – Grew in confidence as the game progressed and delivered a peach of a performance to continue his resurgence.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (7/10) – His physicality and dangerous movement at right wing-back made Reece James’ absence nearly unnoticeable.
Enzo Fernandez (7/10) – Put in a performance to match his enormous price tag. A sumptuous assist for Havertz’s goal and a couple of other line-breaking passes combined with some gritty defensive work capped off an impressive evening.
Mateo Kovacic (7/10) – A captain’s performance from the Croat. Finished off a solid day’s work with a composed volley.
Ben Chilwell (7/10) – Stunned the King Power into silence with a well-taken volley. Showed exactly what Chelsea have missed in his absence.
Kai Havertz (8/10) – Playing off Mudryk proved a masterstroke as his movement made the evening difficult for the Leicester defence. Scored an excellent goal to restore his side’s lead.
Mykhailo Mudryk (6/10) – Put in the performance of a player still adapting to life in the Premier League, but he wasn’t helped by being asked to play down the middle. Was good value for his assist.
Joao Felix (6/10) – Was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet before being replaced at halftime, which could be a precautionary move after suffering a nasty tackle early on.
Substitutes
Conor Gallagher (6/10)
Christian Pulisic (4/10)
Trevoh Chalobah (5/10)
Carney Chukwuemeka (N/A)
Benoit Badiashile (N/A)
