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Leicester 2 Chelsea 1: John Terry not alone in failure and Diego Costa remains completely unconvincing

Five things we learnt from the game at the King Power Stadium

Simon Hart
King Power Stadium
Monday 14 December 2015 23:38 GMT
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Vardy proves far too hot for panicked Chelsea’s taste

Every Leicester fan received a pack of commemorative Vardy Salted crisps entering the stadium. They were a plain-tasting pack, though you wonder whether in the Chelsea dressing room they were given packs sprinkled with something hot and spicy. After all, Vardy certainly managed to leave the visitors feeling uncomfortable throughout.

Before this match Chelsea had conceded just one goal in five games, but from the start Vardy’s speed and tenacity had them on the back foot. There was one hopeful ball knocked down the left channel in the first half for which he was third favourite behind Thibaut Courtois and Kurt Zouma, yet the Chelsea pair got in a panic and conceded a throw-in. He later sped in to nick the ball off the toe of Zouma, who kicked the striker instead to concede a free-kick on the edge of his own area.

It only got worse. John Terry had his back to Vardy when he got behind the Chelsea centre-backs for the opening goal. Terry was later hauled off, though he was certainly not alone in failing to contain the Leicester live wire.

The King Power is crackling with energy and belief

“Be loud and be proud” was the pre-match battle cry from Alan Birchenall, the 1970s Leicester favourite who now holds the match-day mic as King Power Stadium cheerleader. It is hard to think of a Premier League ground that is louder and prouder than the King Power. Leicester are enjoying their best top-flight campaign since the early Sixties and there is an atmosphere to match. The paper clappers distributed on each seat are the 21st-century answer to the old rattle and they help create a hell of a racket in a stadium crackling with electricity in every match.

“Hearing the roar of the crowd makes us believe that anything is possible,” said Vardy in a message of thanks on the back of last night’s clappers. On nights like this, when the cry of “We’re Leicester City, we’re top of the league” fills the ground, anything really does feel possible.

Kanté’s a canny force in midfield for Leicester

Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez will take the headlines once more but one of Leicester’s unsung heroes, N’Golo Kanté, is proving one of the signings of this Premier League season – and he showed his value once again last night.

It was Leicester’s head of recruitment, Steve Walsh, who once scouted Didier Drogba for Chelsea, who told Leicester’s manager, Claudio Ranieri, to sign the little midfielder in a £5.6m deal from French club Caen after just one season of top-flight football. Already he has more interceptions than any other player in the Premier League and inside 50 seconds he had nicked a ball off the toe of Willian to spark the home side’s first attack of the night. Next he was getting between Willian and the ball, showing tigerish tenacity to hold off the bigger Brazilian.

He also helped his centre-backs contain Diego Costa in the first half, nibbling away at the Brazilian when he came deep, yet Kanté is not just a destructive force. It was the 24-year-old who picked up the ball from a weak Chelsea clearance and slipped a quick pass 10 yards upfield to Vardy to begin the move for the opening goal.

Cumbersome Costa remains completely unconvincing

If everything Jamie Vardy touches at the moment turns to gold – or, for one night at least, potato crisps – the opposite must be said of Diego Costa. Almost the anti-Vardy in his lack of movement this season, this was another evening when, at times, he seemed more intent on playing up to his reputation as the division’s favourite pantomime villain. The quickest he moved all evening came when he shot off the ground in anger at a naughty challenge from Vardy. In fairness, he did put himself about early on but once again seemed to get bogged down in squabbles with Leicester’s defenders, notably the excellent Wes Morgan. He even had a go at his own defenders before missing a golden chance when he shot at Kasper Schmeichel’s legs in the second half, meaning that it was Loïc Remy instead who gave Chelsea hope with his late header.

Mourinho’s misery on the road continues

This was Chelsea’s fifth defeat in eight away matches this season, of which they have won only one. Not since 2000 have they taken so few points on their travels at this stage of a campaign. They had the chances to claim a point but like Leicester, they have their own momentum – one that the deposed champions are struggling to halt.

The announcement just before the final whistle of a ten-mile tailback on the southbound M1, which was greeted by big cheers from the home supporters, summed up another miserable away day for the Blues’ travelling fans.

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