Graham Potter has new Chelsea hero as Leicester escape two red cards

Chelsea managed to record another crucial victory in the Premier League against Leicester City on Saturday despite being on the receiving end of several questionable refereeing decisions at the King Power Stadium. Ben Chilwell’s volleyed opener, a fine lob from Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic’s powerful finish secured all three points for Graham Potter’s side, who looked shaky as half-time approached after Patson Daka’s equaliser for the Foxes but were able to tighten their grip on the contest as it developed.

Express Sport takes a look at some of the biggest talking points from Chelsea’s third successive victory in all competitions, with the west Londoners finally starting to click after a lacklustre campaign to date…

Chilwell shines yet again

Chelsea have struggled to find the back of the net for the vast majority of the campaign to date but managed to stave off the threat of another fruitless afternoon when Chilwell popped up with a sumptuous volley against his former club inside the opening 12 minutes. The Blues left-back was booed by Leicester fans with every touch during the early stages of the match but managed to shut them up by drawing first blood for Chelsea with a well-struck effort from a tight angle.

The 26-year-old caught the ball perfectly with a first-time volley and celebrated by cupping his ears to the home supporters after his shot rolled past everybody in the area and crept into the back of the net. He has arguably been Chelsea’s best player in their last few matches and Potter will be desperately hoping that he is able to keep up the good work over the next few weeks, with the England ace going on to provide another solid defensive performance after his first-half goal at the King Power Stadium.

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Poor decisions fail to hurt Chelsea

Leicester were extremely fortunate to avoid being reduced to nine men before the half-time whistle, with Ricardo Pereira and Daniel Amartey escaping punishment for two horrible challenges in the opening 45 minutes. Pereira managed to get off scot-free despite stamping on the ankle of Joao Felix with his studs showing in the early exchanges, with referee Andre Marriner choosing to wave away the protests of the visitors rather than brandishing a card of any colour.

The Foxes were spared another sending-off when Amartey’s boot made contact with the chest of Havertz just minutes before the German forward scored Chelsea’s second goal of the afternoon at the end of the first half. The Blues ultimately ended up having the last laugh, although they will feel aggrieved that Marriner effectively made their job harder by taking such a lenient approach to proceedings at the King Power Stadium.

Leicester were eventually made to pay for their reckless tackling, though, when Wout Faes was dismissed for a full-blooded challenge on Chelsea substitute Carney Chukwuemeka during the closing stages of the match.

Loftus-Cheek steps up to the plate

The absence of Reece James threatened to derail Chelsea’s efforts to claim all three points against Leicester, with the Blues often faltering away when missing their star right-back on multiple occasions this season. Ruben Loftus-Cheek was tasked with filling the void left by James and managed to fit in well for the most part despite being a natural midfielder after impressing against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League in midweek.

He looked comfortable in his makeshift position for the majority of proceedings at the King Power Stadium, which will come as a welcome boost to Potter in knowing that he can count on Loftus-Cheek to step up when James is injured or unavailable. Chelsea will still be praying for the latter to play as much as possible between now and the end of the campaign, though, as they look to save their season by climbing out of their mid-table position over the coming weeks.

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Has Potter turned a corner?

Chelsea were seemingly in the midst of an internal crisis just a few weeks ago but finally appear to be getting to grips with life under the guidance of Potter, who has endured a torrid reign since taking over from Thomas Tuchel last year. The former Brighton boss has always said that he retains the full backing of Chelsea owner Todd Boehly and it seems as though the American billionaire’s patience might just be paying off, with the two-time European champions on a run of three straight wins in all competitions.

They will have further chances to strengthen their newly-found momentum in their next two Premier League matches against Everton and Aston Villa, which will lead them into next month’s vital meeting with Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. That fixture will represent another stern test for Potter as he looks to prove that Chelsea are back on the rise after a hugely difficult season to date, which has already seen their hopes of Champions League qualification effectively go up in smoke.

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