Chelsea returned to action in the Premier League with a routine 2-1 win over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
Goals in each half from Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez saw the Blues past Steve Cooper’s side, with Chelsea climbing up to third in the Premier League.
Leicester managed to grab a goal back through Jordan Ayew in injury-time with a penalty, but ultimately it was too late for the Foxes to take something away from the game.
And here are five things Enzo Maresca will have learnt from Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Leicester City.
Perfect start ahead of a busy set of fixtures
Between now and the new year, Chelsea will play 10 games. So returning to action in the Premier League with a convincing 2-0 win against Leicester was the perfect start for Enzo Maresca’s side.
Chelsea will rotate heavily next week when they take on Heidenheim in the Europa Conference League, before returning to action next weekend to welcome Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are already in the conversation for Champions League football next season, and should they manage to beat Aston Villa, they will further cement themselves as one of the favourites to qualify for Europe’s elite competition following two poor Premier League campaigns.
Killed the game
There were a few moments in the first half that had Leicester been more clinical, they would have equalised. While they didn’t, it was evident Chelsea needed a second to kill off the game.
And in the 75th minute, they did just that when Enzo Fernandez scored to make it 2-0. After that, it was plain sailing for Chelsea, who climbed up to third in the Premier League.
While they have played a game more than Manchester City and Liverpool, they now sit a point behind the former and six behind the latter.
Cole Palmer escapes a nasty injury – again
Once again, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer escaped a nasty injury. Prior to the international break, Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez was not sent off for a shocking tackle on Palmer that left him on the ground.
And again against Leicester, midfielder Wilfred Ndidi was only given a yellow for another bad challenge on Palmer. The Leicester star planted his studs into Palmer’s ankle, but did not see red, a decision which left some fans on social media stunned.
Thankfully, Palmer escaped unharmed, and played the remained of the game. However, it was a shocking tackle and one which should have seen Ndidi sent off. Maresca will count himself lucky the Blues star did not have to come off.
I was wrong
Back in the summer, we were asked to predict how we felt the 2024/25 Premier League season would turn out. We were also asked to make a bold prediction, with mine being that Enzo Maresca wouldn’t make it to December.
I was wrong. I thought that with all the chaos over the summer at Stamford Bridge, Maresca wouldn’t be able to build a cohesive team. However, the Italian has done just that.
In a squad packed with forwards, Maresca has settled on a regular front four of Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke and Pedro Neto. While Neto missed the game against Leicester, Joao Felix came into the starting XI, offering a threat from the left.
It is a testament to Maresca that he has, in such a short space of time, built a cohesive attack who have led Chelsea to third in the Premier League. And for all the talk about bringing in Victor Osimhen being the missing link in the summer, Jackson has stepped up this season by scoring seven goals in 12 Premier League games. And that leads into our next point…
Nicolas Jackson is good
The Senegalese striker was subject to quite a bit of ridicule last season, but he did score 17 goals in all competitions. So far this season, he has seven in 12, and looks to have improved his game under Maresca. Against Leicester, he took his goal excellently, producing an outside of the foot finish to beat Mads Hermansen.
Jackson is only 23 but he looks to be rounding out into a complete forward capable of hurting defences with his pace and finishing. He also could have had an assist in the first half after he blazed down the left wing on the counter, putting in a sublime cross into the path of Madueke who fluffed his lines.
And should Jackson continue to improve under Maresca, Chelsea may not need to go out and splash the cash on someone like Osimhen.