Premier League
ChelseaChelsea1LeicesterLeicester City1

Chelsea 1-1 Leicester: Thomas Tuchel's side all but secure third place with draw

By Gary RoseBBC Sport
Marcos Alonso
Marcos Alonso's goal was his fourth in the Premier League this season

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says finishing third in the Premier League should be seen as a "miracle" given N'Golo Kante's injury struggles.

The Blues' 1-1 draw with Leicester puts them three points clear of Tottenham, in fourth, with a game to go.

Chelsea have a superior goal difference of 18 over Spurs.

Kante has missed more than half the season with various injuries and Tuchel said: "He is the guy who makes the difference."

The German added: "I think he is our key, key, key player; but key, key, key players need to be on the pitch.

"He plays only 40% of the games. So it's maybe a miracle that we arrived in third place.

"Because he is our Mo Salah, he is our [Virgil] Van Dijk, he is our [Kevin] De Bruyne, he is simply that player. He is our Neymar, he is our Kylian Mbappe."

Chelsea, beaten in the FA Cup final by Liverpool at the weekend, fell behind early on at Stamford Bridge when James Maddison curled a fine effort beyond goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.

However, Marcos Alonso equalised towards the end of the first half when he was picked out superbly by Reece James and volleyed in.

Chelsea dominated the second half and had numerous chances to take all three points.

Hakim Ziyech went close with a free kick while Romelu Lukaku - who had been largely quiet - headed wide.

But Christian Pulisic failed to convert the best chance for a winner when he sliced wide from eight yards with the goal at his mercy.

The result means Chelsea stay third, three points ahead of Tottenham, but with a vastly superior goal difference.

Tuchel's side finish the season at home to relegated Watford on Sunday (16:00 BST) while Leicester, who are ninth, will look cement a top-10 finish when they host Southampton at the same time.

Chelsea look to the future as season draws to a close

Chelsea 1-1 Leicester: Blues 'deserve' third-place finish - Thomas Tuchel

Any jeopardy for Chelsea in this game disappeared on Monday, when their place in the top four was confirmed by Arsenal's defeat at Newcastle.

But with back-to-back home fixtures to finish the campaign, the Blues had a chance to end on a high before switching focus to the future - and the pressing issue of getting the club's ownership sorted.

Initially, Chelsea were sluggish, a possible hangover from their FA Cup loss, but they improved as the game wore on and were unfortunate not to take all three points.

That they didn't win was down to their inability to finish chances, a problem that has plagued them this season.

Maddison caps a fine season to boost England hopes

Chelsea 1-1 Leicester: Draw was the least Foxes deserved - Brendan Rodgers

Maddison, named Leicester's player of the season earlier this week, is enjoying his best Premier League goal return in a season, taking his tally to 11 with his striker at Stamford Bridge.

The midfielder had a spell out of the team in the early months of the campaign when he admitted he was struggling for confidence but has not looked back since returning.

In total, he has scored 17 goals in all competitions, chipping in with 11 assists, which surely will not have gone unnoticed by England boss Gareth Southgate as he plans his squad for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.

Player of the match

JamesReece James

with an average of 6.86

Chelsea

  1. Squad number24Player nameJames
    Average rating

    6.86

  2. Squad number7Player nameKanté
    Average rating

    6.78

  3. Squad number6Player nameThiago Silva
    Average rating

    6.56

  4. Squad number3Player nameAlonso
    Average rating

    6.52

  5. Squad number29Player nameHavertz
    Average rating

    6.42

  6. Squad number16Player nameMendy
    Average rating

    6.18

  7. Squad number14Player nameChalobah
    Average rating

    6.15

  8. Squad number22Player nameZiyech
    Average rating

    6.10

  9. Squad number12Player nameLoftus-Cheek
    Average rating

    6.02

  10. Squad number2Player nameRüdiger
    Average rating

    6.02

  11. Squad number5Player nameJorginho
    Average rating

    5.84

  12. Squad number10Player namePulisic
    Average rating

    5.71

  13. Squad number28Player nameAzpilicueta
    Average rating

    5.71

  14. Squad number9Player nameLukaku
    Average rating

    5.44

Leicester City

  1. Squad number22Player nameDewsbury-Hall
    Average rating

    6.83

  2. Squad number3Player nameFofana
    Average rating

    6.81

  3. Squad number10Player nameMaddison
    Average rating

    6.73

  4. Squad number1Player nameSchmeichel
    Average rating

    6.55

  5. Squad number6Player nameEvans
    Average rating

    6.34

  6. Squad number27Player nameCastagne
    Average rating

    6.17

  7. Squad number18Player nameAmartey
    Average rating

    6.09

  8. Squad number33Player nameThomas
    Average rating

    6.08

  9. Squad number24Player nameMendy
    Average rating

    6.08

  10. Squad number7Player nameBarnes
    Average rating

    6.05

  11. Squad number14Player nameIheanacho
    Average rating

    6.01

  12. Squad number17Player nameAyoze Pérez
    Average rating

    5.81

  13. Squad number9Player nameVardy
    Average rating

    5.80

Line-ups

Chelsea

Formation 3-4-2-1

  • 16Mendy
  • 14Chalobah
  • 6Thiago Silva
  • 2RüdigerBooked at 66mins
  • 24James
  • 5JorginhoBooked at 85mins
  • 7KantéBooked at 47minsSubstituted forLoftus-Cheekat 72'minutes
  • 3Alonso
  • 22Ziyech
  • 10PulisicSubstituted forAzpilicuetaat 72'minutes
  • 9LukakuBooked at 59minsSubstituted forHavertzat 78'minutes

Substitutes

  • 1Arrizabalaga
  • 12Loftus-Cheek
  • 17Saúl
  • 18Barkley
  • 19Mount
  • 23Kenedy
  • 28Azpilicueta
  • 29Havertz
  • 31Sarr

Leicester

Formation 3-1-4-2

  • 1Schmeichel
  • 3Fofana
  • 6EvansBooked at 64mins
  • 18Amartey
  • 24Mendy
  • 27Castagne
  • 10Maddison
  • 22Dewsbury-Hall
  • 33Thomas
  • 9VardySubstituted forPérezat 78'minutes
  • 14IheanachoSubstituted forBarnesat 63'minutes

Substitutes

  • 4Söyüncü
  • 7Barnes
  • 11Albrighton
  • 12Ward
  • 17Pérez
  • 20Choudhury
  • 21Ricardo Pereira
  • 29Daka
  • 37Lookman
Referee:
Stuart Attwell
Attendance:
31,478

Match Stats

Home TeamChelseaAway TeamLeicester
Possession
Home67%
Away33%
Shots
Home20
Away2
Shots on Target
Home7
Away1
Corners
Home6
Away0
Fouls
Home13
Away7

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Chelsea 1, Leicester City 1.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Chelsea 1, Leicester City 1.

  3. Post update

    Foul by Marcos Alonso (Chelsea).

  4. Post update

    Ayoze Pérez (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  5. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Reece James (Chelsea) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

  6. Post update

    Édouard Mendy (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  7. Post update

    Foul by Harvey Barnes (Leicester City).

  8. Post update

    Offside, Leicester City. Ayoze Pérez tries a through ball, but Harvey Barnes is caught offside.

  9. Booking

    Jorginho (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  10. Post update

    Foul by Jorginho (Chelsea).

  11. Post update

    Wesley Fofana (Leicester City) wins a free kick on the right wing.

  12. Post update

    Foul by Kai Havertz (Chelsea).

  13. Post update

    Wesley Fofana (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  14. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Thiago Silva.

  15. Substitution

    Substitution, Chelsea. Kai Havertz replaces Romelu Lukaku.

  16. Substitution

    Substitution, Leicester City. Ayoze Pérez replaces Jamie Vardy.

  17. Post update

    Foul by Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea).

  18. Post update

    Wesley Fofana (Leicester City) wins a free kick on the right wing.

  19. Post update

    Attempt saved. Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea) header from very close range is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Marcos Alonso with a cross.

  20. Post update

    Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Luke Thomas.

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As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Man City37286396247290
2Liverpool37278291256689
3Chelsea372011674324271
4Tottenham372151164402468
5Arsenal37213135647966
6Man Utd371610115756158
7West Ham371681359481156
8Wolves37156163740-351
9Leicester371310145858049
10Brighton371115113943-448
11Brentford37137174754-746
12Newcastle371210154261-1946
13Crystal Palace371015124946345
14Aston Villa37136185051-145
15Southampton37913154263-2140
16Everton37116204261-1939
17Burnley37714163351-1835
18Leeds37811184078-3835
19Watford3765263375-4223
20Norwich3757252379-5622
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