Chelsea 0-1 Leicester City: Three talking points

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LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 22: Jamie Vardy of Leicester City scores his team’s first goal as Kepa Arrizabalaga of Chelsea looks on during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Leicester City at Stamford Bridge on December 22, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) /

Leicester City rocked Chelsea to secure their first win at Stamford Bridge in 18 years. Here’s what we learned from their 1-0 win:

Claude Puel gets his blueprint

Saturday was one day when Claude Puel needed to take the bull by the horns in terms of the way that Leicester City were going to go about their job in a game with far-reaching consequences and so he did. The Frenchman chose to go with three defensive midfielders in a 4-3-3, setting them up to let Chelsea have hold of the ball and hit them on the break.

It was exactly what happened in the second half, when Jamie Vardy finished off a move that comprised just two passes to give the visitors the lead. Ricardo Pereira won the ball back in his own half and sprinted forward to find James Maddison in the middle, who expertly threaded a pass through to Vardy. The 31-year old made no mistake and thudded the ball past Kepa Arrizabalaga for his 28th goal in 48 appearances against the big six. All of this happened in a matter of seconds, mind.

Leicester still had a lot to do after the opener, but they defended very well – as well as they ever have under Puel – to see out the rest of the game and secure their first win at Stamford Bridge in 18 years. The Foxes’ under-pressure boss now has a blueprint that can save his job.

He has been repeatedly exhorted to use Claudio Ranieri-like tactics by fans and players alike, and he can now see why. Not only do the players enjoy themselves more when asked to play this way but they are more effective, too. This is not to say that Puel must stop doing what he wants to and simply do what Ranieri did. He just needs to be more flexible and slightly more willing to do things differently against different teams.