Leicester vs Chelsea: Chilwell, Havertz & Kovacic score to continue Blues' resurgence after a 3-1 win

Graham Potter's side completed their three back-to-back victories in 2023 in Leicester vs Chelsea finishing 3-1 in favour of the Blues at the King Power Stadium.

Leicester vs Chelsea: Summary

Ben Chilwell grabbed the game's opener with a stunning low strike past Danny Ward at his near post after 11 minutes to give Chelsea the lead.

Chelsea were unable to build on their lead and were punished for poor defending by Patson Daka who struck Leicester level six minutes before the interval.

Kai Havertz ensured Potter's side went into the break ahead after lifting the ball over ward in first half stoppage to take advantage of Enzo Fernandez's stunning ball over the top into the box.

Mateo Kovacic added a third with 12 minutes to go after volleying home Mykhailo Mudryk's headed assist to make it 3-1 to Chelsea and to seal all three points.

Wout Faes added to Leicester's trouble, who suffered a fifth straight defeat in all competitions, after getting second off in the 87th minute.

Potter made two changes for the trip to the King Power with Ruben Loftus-Cheek replacing the ill Reece James and Mykhailo Mudryk coming back into the fold due to Raheem Sterling's tight hamstring.

Joao Felix felt it within the opening two minutes after being on the receiving end of a late and nasty challenge from Ricardo Pereira, who avoided a yellow card from Andre Marriner and VAR opted not to get involved despite replays showing it could have warranted a red card.

Leicester had the first shot on target after nine minutes; James Maddison struck from distance but it was comfortable for Kepa Arrizabalaga as both sides settled into the league affair.

But it was Chelsea who took the lead after 11 minutes through, a former Foxes player, Ben Chilwell. The ball came down from Kalidou Koulibaly's high cross and he volleyed past Danny Ward to give the Blues an early advantage.

Daniel Amartey had a great chance to level the game three minutes later. Maddison flashed a free-kick across the box, but the midfielder was unable to guide it goalwards from yards out.

Felix almost doubled Chelsea's lead after a stunning first touch to take down Kai Havertz's ball and strike towards goal, but his dink over Ward came back off the post to deny him of his second goal for the club.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was the next to test the crossbar. His long-range effort struck the woodwork, to Kepa's relief, to ensure the visitors' narrow lead remained in tact.

But six minutes before half-time, Patson Daka levelled the game with a stunning strike from distance to beat Kepa at the Spaniard's left-hand post.

Leicester's tails were up before the interval. Maddison called Kepa into action as they searched for another quick goal, before Kelechi Iheanacho was denied by the Chelsea goalkeeper.

But Chelsea took the lead in first half stoppage time. Enzo Fernandez beautifully and delicately lifted the ball to find Havertz, who dinked it over Ward to restore their lead six minutes into stoppage time.

Felix's hopes of getting his second goal for the club were ended at half-time after he was substituted for Conor Gallagher at the interval.

Second Half:

In the second half of Leicester vs Chelsea. Wesley Fofana almost followed Chilwell's footsteps of getting a goal on his King Power just over minute into the second half. He met a corner but his header was well kept out by Ward.

Leicester City searched for an equaliser in the second half and Gallagher was called into action to block off the line for Chelsea to spare Kepa's blushes from the hosts' corner.

In the 68th minute, Havertz should've doubled the advantage. He met Chilwell's corner but Ward kept out the German's free header, getting down lower to push away from the danger zone.

Kepa's blushes were spared once again, his luck was in, as he was unable to deal with a Leicester cross and it provided Dewsbury-Hall with a glorious chance from close range to level the game, but he scuffed and skewed his effort to add the Foxes' frustrations.

Potter quickly made two more changes as the game headed into its latter stages. Chilwell and Loftus-Cheek were replaced by Trevoh Chalobah and Christian Pulisic, seeing Chelsea move to a back four.

After hitting the post, Felix thought he finally got his goal 11 minutes before half-time. Loftus-Cheek played the ball across the box after Mudryk found him out wide, and the 23-year-old slotted home from inside the penalty box to double Chelsea's lead. However, VAR added to the Portugal international's frustrations by ruling it out for offside.

Mudryk thought he had his first goal for Chelsea after slotting past Ward one-on-one with 15 minutes to play. He ran towards the travelling section but he turned around to find the flag raised for offside to see the score stay at 1-2.

Jamie Vardy almost made an instant impact for Leicester at the near post but he couldn't keep his header down at the near post.

Mudryk got an assists though with 12 minutes to go. He guided his header back to Mateo Kovacic in the box who fired his volley past Ward to extend the advantage and give Chelsea come breathing space. That was Mudryk's last involvement, who excelled on his first league start in a month, as Carney Chukwuemeka replaced the Ukrainian late on.

Fofana was taken off with four minutes to go after picking up a knock, having the last laugh on his return to the King Power.

Leicester were reduced to 10 men with three minutes to go when Wout Faes was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a foul on Chukwuemeka.

Chelsea held on to the 3-1 win to get another win under their belt. They remain in 10th but the mood in the camp continues to rise after a difficult period which they look to have overcome. Next up for Potter's side is Everton at Stamford Bridge next weekend.