Chelsea 0-1 Leicester City: Chelsea stunned by Leicester and Jamie Vardy winner

Manager Maurizio Sarri said his Chelsea players reacted with "mental confusion" as they failed to respond to the predatory Jamie Vardy strike that earned Leicester victory at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues lost at home for the first time this season after Vardy's first-time finish in the box from James Maddison's pass in the 51st minute.

Chelsea had been dominant before the break and struck the bar through Eden Hazard following a Harry Maguire error - the best of a host of chances.

But having gone behind, it was Sarri's side who became sloppy as Leicester grew in strength having resisted heavy pressure.

The Foxes would have doubled their lead but for Cesar Azpilicueta's sliding block to deny Vardy after Kepa Arrizabalaga spilled a cross, before the keeper saved well from Marc Albrighton.

Chasing a goal of their own, Chelsea struggled to break their opponents down before missing two key late chances.

In the 89th minute, Antonio Rudiger nodded just wide from a corner, before Marcos Alonso struck the post with only the keeper to beat two minutes later.

"We played well for 55 minutes," Sarri told BBC Sport.

"I think that, of course, in some situations we were unlucky but we could have done something better.

"After the goal the reaction was not the right reaction. We reacted a little shocked and with mental confusion. We had to only keep playing like we did before the goal, there was time to recover."

The Blues had not lost at home since 1 April, against Tottenham, and this defeat leaves them level on points with fifth-placed Arsenal, who beat Burnley 3-1 earlier on Saturday. They trail leaders Liverpool by 11 points.

For Leicester, the win moves them up to ninth in the table and is their first victory from 11 matches in London.

Crisis? What crisis?

Reports before the game spoke not just of pressure on Leicester boss Claude Puel from the club's owners but of an apparent falling-out with his players, too.

There was little sign of the team lacking any motivation or desire on the pitch on Saturday.

Resisting the intensity of Chelsea's attacking intent is by no means a small feat. Puel's men not only managed to achieve that, but also to build on it as they forced themselves slowly but surely into the game.

It was Vardy's goal, scored on his 250th appearance for the club, that sealed victory, but it was a win earned by the whole team through constant running, daring in defence, and precision when it counted.

With Manchester City up next on 26 December, it had been suggested Leicester's following match at home to Cardiff on 29 December might even decide the future of their French manager.

Instead, this impressive victory, a first at Stamford Bridge since 2000, must surely stand as evidence of Puel's worth.

Chelsea however, will now face questions of their own.

Bad misses or bad luck?

This was not a vintage Chelsea performance - not the kind of showing we have come to expect from them at home since Sarri's arrival in the summer.

Looking back on the match, the Italian will identify three big misses that cost his side.

There was Hazard, smashing against the bar in search of his 100th Chelsea goal, there was Rudiger's header wide under pressure but with the goal gaping at a corner, and finally Alonso's 91st-minute miss when clean through.

The Spaniard, played in behind the Leicester defence, side-footed his shot against the post and out, having been given what seemed an age to pick his spot.

Perhaps these were moments of bad luck. Sarri is renowned as being a very superstitious man, but he will not have failed to observe the clear dip in intensity from his side after going behind, which ultimately defined their afternoon.

They seemed shell-shocked after Vardy's powerful strike, and only managed to conjure something of their finer play in the final few dramatic minutes. It turned out to be too little, too late.

Hazard left the field with a wry smile having missed out on the chance of becoming just the 10th Chelsea player to reach that landmark total of a century of goals.

Had he done so, the afternoon might have ended very differently for Puel, the man who gave him his senior debut 11 years ago for French club Lille.

Man of the match - Ricardo Pereira (Leicester)

What's next?

Chelsea next play at Watford in the Premier League on Wednesday, 26 December, before travelling to Crystal Palace on Sunday, 30 December.

Leicester host Manchester City on Wednesday, before Cardiff travel to King Power Stadium on Saturday, 29 December.

What the managers said

Leicester manager Claude Puel, speaking to BBC Sport:

Chelsea 0-1 Leicester: Foxes' win is a 'fantastic feeling' - Claude Puel

"It was fantastic hard work from the team together, first to defend and after to try and counter-attack.

"In the second half with the confidence, we performed, scored a fantastic goal, a fantastic reward for the team because we gave our best.

"It is a fantastic feeling. Hopefully we continue this way but the win doesn't change anything. It is important we go away to analyse our game; that we continue to work with the same mentality and same attitude."

Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri, speaking to BBC Sport:

Chelsea 0-1 Leicester: Maurizio Sarri admits Chelsea will not reach Liverpool or Man City

"As I said at the beginning of the Premier League, it is impossible to catch Liverpool and Manchester City. We have to be careful to stay close to the first four positions."

Vardy a big six menace - the stats

Chelsea have failed to score in two of their past four home league games, as many as in their previous 21, and lost at home in the league for the first time in 13 games
Vardy has scored 13 goals in his past 15 Premier League appearances against the 'big six' sides
Chelsea conceded a home Premier League goal for the first time in four games, ending a run of 357 minutes without an opposition goal at Stamford Bridge
Leicester's James Maddison has created 41 goalscoring chances in the Premier League this season, more than any other English player

Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text

Line-ups

Chelsea

Formation 4-3-3

1Arrizabalaga
28Azpilicueta
2Rüdiger
30David Luiz
3Alonso
7Kanté
5JorginhoSubstituted forFàbregasat 75'minutes
17KovacicSubstituted forLoftus-Cheekat 61'minutes
11Pedro
10E Hazard
22WillianSubstituted forGiroudat 61'minutes

Substitutes

4Fàbregas
8Barkley
12Loftus-Cheek
13Caballero
18Giroud
21Zappacosta
24Cahill

Leicester

Formation 4-3-3

1Schmeichel
14Ricardo Pereira
5Morgan
15Maguire
3Chilwell
38Choudhury
24MendyBooked at 81mins
25NdidiBooked at 31mins
11Albrighton
9VardySubstituted forIheanachoat 84'minutes
10MaddisonSubstituted forGrayat 82'minutes

Substitutes

6Evans
7Gray
8Iheanacho
12Ward
20Okazaki
21Iborra
28Fuchs

Referee:: Lee Probert
Attendance:: 40,558

Match Stats

Home TeamChelseaAway TeamLeicester

Possession: Home72%; Away28%

Shots: Home17; Away8

Shots on Target: Home5; Away3

Corners: Home9; Away5

Fouls: Home10; Away9

Live Text

Post update
Match ends, Chelsea 0, Leicester City 1.
90'+5'
Full Time
Second Half ends, Chelsea 0, Leicester City 1.

90'+1'
Post update
Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) hits the left post with a left footed shot from the centre of the box. Assisted by N'Golo Kanté.
90'
Post update
Offside, Leicester City. Demarai Gray tries a through ball, but Kelechi Iheanacho is caught offside.
89'
Post update
Attempt missed. Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea) header from very close range misses to the right. Assisted by Pedro with a cross following a corner.
89'
Post update
Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Ricardo Pereira.
88'
Post update
Attempt missed. Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Hamza Choudhury.
84'
Substitution
Substitution, Leicester City. Kelechi Iheanacho replaces Jamie Vardy.
83'
Post update
Hand ball by Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea).
82'
Substitution
Substitution, Leicester City. Demarai Gray replaces James Maddison.
82'
Post update
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
82'
Post update
Foul by Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City).
81'
Post update
Attempt saved. Marc Albrighton (Leicester City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
81'
Booking
Nampalys Mendy (Leicester City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
81'
Post update
Foul by Cesc Fàbregas (Chelsea).
81'
Post update
James Maddison (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
78'
Post update
Foul by César Azpilicueta (Chelsea).
78'
Post update
Ben Chilwell (Leicester City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
75'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Eden Hazard (Chelsea) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
75'
Substitution
Substitution, Chelsea. Cesc Fàbregas replaces Jorginho.

As It Stood

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Liverpool	18	15	3	0	39	7	32	48
2	Man City	18	14	2	2	50	13	37	44
3	Tottenham	17	13	0	4	31	16	15	39
4	Chelsea	18	11	4	3	35	15	20	37

5	Arsenal	18	11	4	3	40	24	16	37
6	Man Utd	18	8	5	5	34	30	4	29

7	Watford	18	8	3	7	25	25	0	27

8	Bournemouth	18	8	2	8	27	28	-1	26
9	Leicester	18	7	4	7	22	21	1	25
10	Wolves	18	7	4	7	19	21	-2	25
11	Everton	17	6	6	5	24	22	2	24
12	West Ham	18	7	3	8	25	27	-2	24
13	Brighton	18	6	3	9	20	26	-6	21
14	Crystal Palace	18	5	3	10	17	25	-8	18
15	Newcastle	18	4	5	9	14	22	-8	17
16	Southampton	18	3	6	9	19	33	-14	15
17	Cardiff	18	4	2	12	18	38	-20	14

18	Burnley	18	3	3	12	16	36	-20	12
19	Huddersfield	18	2	4	12	11	31	-20	10
20	Fulham	18	2	4	12	16	42	-26	10

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Comments

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198 comments

Comment posted by Bobby Osram, at 17:34 22 Dec 2018
Well done Leicester, you totally outclassed Chelsea in every department including your fans..
Comment posted by George, at 17:35 22 Dec 2018
Congrats due to Leicester, a brilliant result.

Chelsea very poor.
Comment posted by Display Name, at 17:42 22 Dec 2018
Vardy is a proper striker.
Comment posted by Spurs, at 17:38 22 Dec 2018
Well done Leicester.
Comment posted by DavidHankey, at 17:48 22 Dec 2018
Most unexpected but well deserved result for the 2016 Champions.
Comment posted by sheffox, at 17:49 22 Dec 2018
Well done Leicester , but so inconsistent from game to game.
Comment posted by Richie23, at 17:34 22 Dec 2018
Thursday nights for Chelsea!

Blueisthecolour - Merry Christmas!
Comment posted by U16599391, at 19:37 22 Dec 2018
@17. rospur
Hawkeye.... top 6? Leicester? Hahaha

Rather finish 12th three seasons in a row and have won the premier league than finish in the top four having NEVER won it.
When was your last title? 1961? Hahaha
Mug
Comment posted by U17399077, at 22:50 22 Dec 2018
Sarri does not think Kanti technically good enough for centre midfield.Really ! Kante was the main enabler in Leicester's PL winning season and no coincidence Chelsea won the title after Kanti's arrival and France won the world cup with him in centre midfield. LCFC PL winning season was a perfect storm with every player hitting peak form,but even Messi would not have had the same effect Kante had.
Comment posted by ruweller, at 17:42 22 Dec 2018
Up the city, up the tigers.
Comment posted by shotthefox, at 20:09 22 Dec 2018
Six English players in the starting line up and one came on from the bench . Well done city
Comment posted by andrew, at 00:17 23 Dec 2018
Can the mature adults who comment influence the HYS 'rules' for football comments ?
'Up arrow' if you agree that any comment that use playground 'nicknames' such as 'Manure', 'Spuds', 'Chelski', etc., or which refer to 'plastic' fans should be removed.
Any other suggestions for 'rules; to improve the level of debate ?

If there is popular support perhaps the BBC will take notice ?
Comment posted by U17089325, at 19:55 22 Dec 2018
Professional footballers on £200,000 £300,000 plus a week and they get "mentally confused." Do me a favour!
Comment posted by Scanton, at 19:23 22 Dec 2018
I will reiterate what many have already said, well done Leicester on your deserved result.

Chelsea's finishing was dire today and in the second half Leicester worked hard to ensure a win, whilst Chelsea struggled to string a few passes together.

It's a shame that Chelsea didn't have the driver and determination Leicester showed today. They could also do with a striker of Vardy's quality.
Comment posted by U16655251, at 18:03 22 Dec 2018
Looks like a bad day at the office for Chelsea, but well done done Leicester. The best team always wins.
Comment posted by Finchy, at 07:09 23 Dec 2018
This, and the City result should have been the football headline stories.... Important & significant outcomes ............... but oh no !! the BBC see some mid-table mediocre side beat the bottom team of no-hope stragglers as far more important news.
Usual Manure fanzine behavior from BBC football writers
Comment posted by fearlessfoxlcfc, at 00:43 23 Dec 2018
We are the Leicester blue boys .... vardy what a fast class servent he his to city .. if we hadent have thrown away so many points this season already we wauld be in the top 4 .. we have alot of bad luck .. but when we go at it , we can beat any club .. shauld have beaten man city in the efl cup tues on pens .. we have a great squad .. and underated .. even when we were champs in 2016
Comment posted by slapheadblue, at 17:41 22 Dec 2018
We need that 20 goal striker the others seem to have 2 or more of
Comment posted by Buzz1960, at 06:24 23 Dec 2018
Puel until the end of the season and then let's take stock. He's trying to build a different, younger squad. We do need another goal scorer and a creative midfielder, but, apart from that, we're doing okay. Maybe 4 or 5 points shy of where we should be.
Comment posted by JCB, at 20:33 22 Dec 2018
Pity HS2 didn't go through Chelsea or White hart lane. A nice comp purchase order would have put pay to them!
As for this 'Big Six' rubbish, based on silver ware over the last 20 yrs, it's Man Utd, Chelsea, Mancity, Arsenal, Liverpool and LEICESTER.
Danny D for LCFC! Come home Danny.