Chelsea dominated possession from the off and took a deserved lead on 15 minutes. Jackson harried Wout Faes into a mistake and then flicked home a brilliant finish with the outside of his boot. A second goal looked to have followed on the half hour when Noni Madueke swept home Marc Cucurella’s cross but the left-back was just offside and the goal was chalked off.
Despite their dominance, the Blues then conspired to offer up chances to Leicester towards the end of the half-time. A surging run from Oliver Skipp ended with the substitute picking out Kasey McAteer who whipped a curling shot just around the post. Another opportunity then went begging when Wilfried Ndidi managed to fire a low shot wide after good work from Jamie Vardy and Victor Kristiansen down the left.
Chelsea were back on top at the start of the second half but were denied a second goal after a bizarre mix up. Cole Palmer looked certain to tap home after Mads Hermansen saved Jackson’s shot but saw his effort blocked on the line by team-mate Madueke, despite his best efforts to get out of the way.
Indeed the Blues had to wait until 15 minutes to go to finally make the game safe. Cucurella’s lofted cross was headed goalwards by Jackson and blocked by Hermansen, but Fernandez was on hand to nod home on the follow up to finish Leicester off. However, there was still time for some late drama when substitute Romeo Lavia caught Bobby De Cordova-Reid in stoppage time and conceded a penalty. Jordan Ayew confidently slotted home from the spot but it was too little too late for the hosts.
GOAL rates Chelsea’s players from the King Power Stadium …