CHELSEA were left wondering what might have been after Tuesday’s defeat to Leicester sent the Foxes top.
Some onlookers had pushed the Blues for their own title tilt after a strong start to the campaign and a huge summer spend.
Ben Chilwell endured a rough ride on his return to Leicester as the Foxes beat Chelsea 2-0Credit: Guardian News & Media
Antonio Rudiger kept his place in the line-up but failed to impressCredit: Getty – Pool
But a 2-0 defeat at King Power Stadium left Frank Lampard’s men nine points off the summit.
Wilfred Ndidi netted Leicester’s opener before James Maddison secured the points before the break.
Here, SunSport’s Simon Phillips gives his verdict on Chelsea’s individual performances.
Edouard Mendy – 6/10
Left totally isolated by his non-existent defence for the two Leicester goals in the first-half, and he even made a couple of decent saves to keep further chances out.
Reece James – 5
Looked rather sluggish up against a quick Harvey Barnes. Whether he is still struggling with an injury remains to be seen, but he certainly didn’t look himself.
Antonio Rudiger – 4
Terrible defending for Leicester’s second goal and just looked disinterested throughout.
I was very surprised to see him start his second game in a row ahead of Kurt Zouma.
Thiago Silva – 6
Quietly went about his business but you can’t help feel sorry for him among of sea of poor performing Chelsea players recently.
Ben Chilwell – 3
At times it looked like he forgot that he was now a Chelsea player rather than still with Leicester.
Kept giving the ball away and looked really off the boil.
Mateo Kovacic – 5
Doesn’t play with enough urgency when defending or closing the ball down.
Tidy on the ball as always, but he’s a liability in the defensive midfield role.
Mateo Kovacic struggled to contain the Leicester midfieldCredit: Reuters
Mason Mount – 7
Once again Mount was one of the few Chelsea players who actually played with any fight or desire.
Any danger came from him but unfortunately his team-mates didn’t bring that same energy.
Kai Havertz – 5
Another quiet game from Havertz, who isn’t bringing anywhere near enough to the table and strolls around the pitch without any urgency. Subbed off on 67 minutes.
Callum Hudson-Odoi – 5
Not his best game, but like Mount, he did look like one of the few players trying to make things happen and play with a bit of urgency.
Callum Hudson-Odoi was handed a chance from the start and was not the worst player on the pitchCredit: Andy Hooper-The Daily Mail
Christian Pulisic – 6
Looks a shadow of the player we have seen small spells of at Chelsea.
Played with fear too often but he was one of the few who did put in the effort and try to make things happen.
Tammy Abraham – 5
Clumsy performance from the striker, who wasn’t really here nor there. Just a body on the pitch not really doing a lot.
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Substitutes
Timo Werner (for Havertz, 67 mins) – 6
Couldn’t do anything to change a poor performing Chelsea.
Scored with a smart volley from a free-kick late on, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Hakim Ziyech (for Hudson-Odoi, 67 mins) – 6
No time for him to work his magic with the subs coming too late once again.
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Frank Lampard was left pondering another tough night at the officeCredit: Guardian News & Media
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk