Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez goals secured a dominant away victory for Chelsea at Leicester.
Jackson, 23, scored his fifth goal in four consecutive away games as he outbattled defender Wout Faes to win a long punt up field, which he finished well after Fernandez played him into position in the 15th minute.
Fernandez then headed in from close range on the rebound, after goalkeeper Mads Hermansen saved Jackson’s initial effort, to seal the win.
Jordan Ayew dispatched a late penalty for Leicester in the 95th minute after Romeo Lavia fouled Bobby de Cordova-Reid in the box.
It was a torrid return to Premier League football for Leicester, who lost star midfielder Harry Winks through an ankle injury in the 11th minute.
They didn’t muster a shot on goal until the 39th minute, when Kasey McAteer almost found the bottom corner on the break, then Wilfred Ndidi missed a great chance just before half-time.
But the Blues were dominant on a cold, wet afternoon at the King Power stadium, with over 66% possession throughout the 90 minutes.
Noni Madueke had a goal ruled out for offside and squandered chances through Moises Caicedo and Joao Felix, who earned his first Premier League start since his last spell with the club in May 2023.
Cole Palmer also saw a close range shot cleared off the line by his own man Madueke in unfortunate circumstances shortly after half-time.
Chelsea move up to third in the Premier League table on 22 points before the rest of the weekend’s games, with Leicester remaining 16th on 10 points.
Loss of Winks a huge blow
Leicester were always going to be up against it when facing such a talented, expensively-assembled Chelsea team – but the loss of Winks made their day so much harder.
The former Tottenham midfielder is known to get his foot on the ball, progress the it up the pitch and slow the tempo down when stronger teams come to the East Midlands.
But Leicester lost control of the midfield when he went off early on, with his replacement Oliver Skipp, plus Boubakary Soumare and Ndidi all receiving bookings within the following 19 minutes.
Soumare and Ndidi were fortunate referee Andrew Madley didn’t give red cards for dangerous-looking tackles on Felix and Palmer.
Leicester battled to keep the game alive but need to find a way to better control matches without Winks if his apparent ankle injury persists.
Jackson in form but Fernandez needed his goal
Jackson has gone from an inconsistent enigma of a striker to one of the best in the Premier League.
The Senegal international scored 17 goals last season, more than Didier Drogba in his maiden season at Stamford Bridge, but he was third in the rankings for big chances missed, behind Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez.
Not only is he scoring regularly this term, he is so effective tactically for Chelsea, with an impressive work rate, pressing ability and link-up play with Palmer.
Only Manchester City’s Haaland has scored more than Jackson’s 11 league goals since May last season, with seven goals and three assists in 12 league matches this season.
Fernandez, however, has struggled to get going at Chelsea and live up to his £107m price tag.
But an assist against Arsenal earlier in November and a goal at Leicester will do wonders for his flailing confidence.
He put his fingers to his lips when celebrating, perhaps as a message to his recent critics.
