After Frank Lampard was left peeved by Chelsea’s failure to sign a striker in January, Antonio Rüdiger did his best to soothe the manager’s concerns, the centre-back marking his 100th appearance for
Chelsea by heading in two goals. But that was not enough to close the gap on Leicester, who earned a share of the points thanks to goals by Harvey Barnes and Ben Chilwell. The result leaves them comfortable in third place, eight points about fourth-place Chelsea, who can feel the breath of the chasing pack on their backs.
Last season Chelsea finished third, 20 points above Leicester. But Leicester have improved since then and Chelsea have not. Lampard is more concerned about the progress made clubs just beneath him, suggesting the purchases made by
Manchester United and Sheffield United make Chelsea underdogs in the fight for the last
Champions League qualification spot even if Chelsea occupy it for now.