Thomas Tuchel has insisted that it is too soon for Chelsea to celebrate as they still have work to do if they are to secure a spot in the top four.
Chelsea attacked from the off in front of their returning fans. Leicester were fortunate to go into the break level as the hosts dominated.
Timo Werner saw two goals disallowed for offside in the first half. The Blues had eleven shots while Leicester had one as they were on the back foot.
Toothless Timo typifies this charged and changed Chelsea
Thomas Tuchel’s side did take the lead shortly after the restart, though. Ben Chilwell’s corner eventually found its way to Antonio Rudiger, who bundled the ball over the line.
Chelsea‘s dominance continued and they were awarded a penalty in the 67th minute. Wesley Fofana brought down Werner and Jorginho converted in typically nonchalant fashion.
Leicester were far off their best but they netted against the run of play in the final 15 minutes.
Chelsea were dispossessed in their own half which allowed Wilfred Ndidi to play in Kelechi Iheanacho. The in-form striker made no mistake as he finished well from inside the area.
The Londoners hung on to deservedly take all three points. They now sit third on 67 points, while Leicester are a point back in fourth.
Liverpool have a game in hand on both teams. They are three points behind Brendan Rodgers’ side and they are one goal better off in terms of goal difference.
As cited by BBC Sport, Tuchel said post-match that the returning Chelsea fans made a “huge difference” against Leicester:
“Fantastic. It was an outstanding performance but the job is not done,” Tuchel said. “We have two more to go. The fans made a huge difference. The speed in our game, the hunger, the ambition. It was a very strong performance and I’m delighted the team can present itself like this in front of our fans.
“We were fired up from our loss against Arsenal. Today we did what we do. We played courageous, high intensity, aggressive. Happy to have the win. I need to repeat, it’s not done.”
[On Werner] “It’s his job to be involved in everything and he needs to be involved on Sunday again. It’s no time now for extra praise. Enjoy, shut up, enjoy your free day and get ready for Sunday. I don’t feel comfortable now celebrating, I just say what’s needed.”
[On the performance compared to Sunday at Wembley] “It was much better. Top performance. First half was amazing. Second half as well. We gave an easy goal away that made us suffer a bit in the end but overall a very deserved win.
[On VAR decisions against Werner] “It’s a clear penalty. They are horrible against us. It’s the third time in a row. This has to stop of course but we were not worried at half-time.”
“It’s still in our hands. We need another huge performance but with fans in the Aston Villa ground will be super hard.”