Match report as Chelsea and Leicester battle to a 1-1 draw; James Maddison gave Leicester the lead before Marcos Alonso equalized for Chelsea; Blues were the better team but were unable to reach the back of the net; Thomas Tuchel's side moved three points ahead of Tottenham to take third place.
Even though they failed to capitalize on a great performance by drawing 1-1 with Leicester, Chelsea have practically ensured themselves a spot in the third place finish.
The Blues were eliminated from the FA Cup on penalties by Liverpool on Saturday. They were already down when James Maddison scored an incredible goal for Leicester City early on, but it turned out to be one of just two attempts the Foxes managed to get off during an otherwise one-sided match.
Marcos Alonso, who was at fault for sloppy defense in the buildup to Leicester's first goal, scored the equalizer for Chelsea by hammering home a lofted cross from Reece James, who is also a wing-back for Chelsea. The goal came in the first half.
Player ratings
Chelsea: Mendy (6), Chalobah (6), Silva (7), Rudiger (6), Alonso (7), Kante (5), Jorginho (6), James (8), Pulisic (5), Ziyech (6), Lukaku (6).
Subs: Azpilicueta (6), Loftus-Cheek (6), Havertz (6).
Leicester: Schmeichel (8), Amartey (7), Evans (8), Fofana (8), Thomas (7), Dewsbury-Hall (7), Mendy (7), Castagne (7), Maddison (8), Iheanacho (6), Vardy (6).
Subs: Barnes (6), Perez (6).
Man of the match: Reece James
After that, however, they were unable to find a way to get the ball past Kasper Schmeichel, and they were forced to face yet another painful night at Stamford Bridge, where they have only won eight of the 18 Premier League games played this season.
It was a disappointing result for Thomas Tuchel and his players, as Christian Pulisic squandered their best opportunity by missing an open goal from a Romelu Lukaku center in the second half. Despite the fact that the draw puts them three points ahead of Tottenham and virtually guarantees them third place due to their vastly superior goal difference, the draw was still a disappointing result.
The ways in which Leicester was able to frustrate Chelsea
Hakim Ziyech broke away from Daniel Amartey and launched a long-range attempt that was very near to finding the back of the net just four minutes of play for Chelsea, who got off to a strong start and came close to scoring first.
Alonso's hesitation allowed Timothy Castagne to grasp onto Schmeichel's long ball and then deliver a cut-back that was deflected into the path of James Maddison to put Leicester ahead. At the time, Leicester were having trouble getting out of their own half, but they eventually took the lead.
Maddison sprinted onto the loose ball unchallenged, then shimmied away from Thiago Silva before curling a wonderful finish inside Edouard Mendy's left-hand post from beyond the Chelsea box. Maddison's goal came from outside the Chelsea box.
The goal stunned the home crowd, but Chelsea continued to control possession and territory. A few minutes later, Trevoh Chalobah attempted a powerful shot from a distance, but Schmeichel made a diving save to deny it. Chelsea came close to tying the score after Schmeichel made a spectacular stop.
Romelu Lukaku, who was starting a fourth consecutive game for the first time since February, had an opportunity to score, but he took too long to get his shot off after N'Golo Kante's interception and pass, which allowed Amartey to get back and make the block. Lukaku started a fourth consecutive game for the first time since February.
Instead, it was up to Alonso to pull Chelsea level, and the Spaniard made up for his earlier mistake when he redeemed himself by slamming home James' angled cross on the volley for his fourth goal in the Premier League this season.
In the second quarter, Chelsea maintained their dominant play, but Leicester defended tenaciously, and when the home team did generate chances, they lacked the cutting edge necessary to capitalize on those opportunities.
Lukaku, who had another bad evening after his dismal performance on Saturday in the FA Cup final, headed the ball barely wide from a cross by Ziyech when he should have struck the target. Lukaku experienced another terrible evening.
Moments later, Pulisic's missed opportunity, which consisted of a scuffed effort that rolled wide with the goal gaping after Lukaku had been passed in on the right-hand side of the Leicester box, prompted the home fans to be in a state of shock.
