Enzo Maresca has lost a few old friends at Leicester but it hardly matters when the Italian is making new ones at Chelsea. They remained in the top four after cruising to victory at a despondent King Power Stadium thanks to goals from Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernández.
This was a mismatch from the start, the sense that the points would be heading back to London constant even when Jordan Ayew halved the deficit with a penalty deep into stoppage time, and the only frustration for Maresca was the failure to win more emphatically. A clean sheet slipped from Chelsea’s grasp for the seventh consecutive league game and, for a side hoping to be a regular presence at the top, more ruthlessness would be welcome.
Even so, Maresca could still take satisfaction from a structured performance, further evidence of Jackson’s development and a mini-resurgence from Fernández. The £106.7m midfielder was combative in his first league start for more than a month, creating Jackson’s opener and making it 2-0 in the 75th minute.
Leicester could have few complaints. They look devoid of ideas under Steve Cooper, whose struggles to build on the style implemented by Maresca during last season’s promotion from the Championship have left him under pressure.
Leicester were oddly muted. Chelsea had enjoyed 82% possession by the half-hour mark and soon settled into a controlled rhythm. It was only when Leicester started to get stuck in before half-time that there was a hint of the mood shifting, although even then the hosts could have been reduced to 10 men when Wilfred Ndidi raked his studs down Cole Palmer’s achilles.
Maresca, perhaps reluctant to criticise his old club, felt a yellow for Ndidi was fair. For his part, Cooper was aggrieved with the officiating. There was disbelief that Paul Tierney, the video assistant referee, did not advise Andy Madley to give a penalty when the substitute Stephy Mavididi tumbled over Wesley Fofana at 2-0.
“The last thing the PGMOL needed was a performance like that,” said Cooper, who was booked for dissent during the first half.
To his credit Cooper did acknowledge Leicester made problems for themselves. After some sustained probing from Chelsea, a long punt brought the visitors an opener that owed much to Jackson’s ability to unnerve defenders with his strength and persistence.
Enter Wout Faes, who was blissfully unaware of the Senegal striker’s willingness to hunt down any lost cause. The Belgian missed four chances to clear his lines and Fernández had space to tee up Jackson, who swiped a lovely right-foot shot across Mads Hermansen and into the far corner.
Jackson’s seventh goal of the season was no more than Chelsea deserved. Fernández had registered his fifth assist in three games and was proving elusive in an advanced role. Palmer played a gorgeous ball to Marc Cucurella, only for a VAR check to show the left-back was offside when he crossed for Noni Madueke to fire home.
Chelsea’s focus dipped after the disallowed goal. Kasey McAteer went close and Leicester should have equalised when Victor Kristiansen surged past Fofana on the left. Chelsea, weakened at right-back after losing Malo Gusto and Reece James to injury, survived when Ndidi made a hash of Kristiansen’s cross.
It was a pivotal moment. Chelsea were comfortable after half-time. João Félix had impressed after coming in for the absent Pedro Neto in his first league start, and he released Jackson. The striker’s shot was saved and, with Palmer set for a simple tap-in, Madueke bizarrely managed to block the shot on the line as he took evasive action. Eventually Chelsea did pull clear, Cucurella crossing for Jackson to bully Caleb Okoli and head at Hermansen. The Leicester goalkeeper saved but Fernández nodded in the rebound.
“Enzo did very well,” Maresca said. “Today was the right day to use Enzo, even though he was just back from international duty. I am trying to convince Enzo that attacking midfielders have to arrive in the box.”
As for Leicester, who are just above the bottom three after four games without a win, there were at least positives to take from their refusal to lie down. Mavididi worried Fofana and Ayew scored from the spot after a penalty was given when Roméo Lavia, who had just come on, brought down another substitute, Bobby De Cordova-Reid. Maresca, though, still had his triumphant return.
