Wasteful Chelsea earn 1-1 draw against Leicester
Chelsea defender Marco Alonso on Thursday scored a glorious equaliser to earn a 1-1 home draw with Leicester City, despite the hosts being wasteful on the night.
The result meant that Chelsea effectively sealed third place in the English Premier League ahead of the final round of fixtures on Sunday.
The draw lifted Chelsea to 71 points, 19 behind leaders Manchester City and three ahead of London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in fourth, but Chelsea’s far superior goal difference means Spurs have no realistic chance of overtaking them.
While they will be delighted to seal third place, Chelsea will be disappointed not to win a game that saw them produce 27 shots but only the one goal as they dominated possession.
In contrast, Leicester scored with their only effort on target after seven minutes as Kasper Schmeichel sent a sweeping long ball to Timothy Castagne and his deflected pass fell into the path of James Maddison who curled a shot past Edouard Mendy.
Chelsea’s 34th-minute equaliser was exquisite as Reece James lofted a diagonal ball into the area for Alonso to volley home and it looked a matter of time before they added to their tally.
Thiago Silva sent a raking ball into the box but the lively Hakim Ziyech could not connect with it as Chelsea sought to turn their dominance into goals.
They earned a number of corners and free kicks around the area and though Leicester’s loose defending at set pieces has proved costly all season, Schmeichel was quickly off his line to claim the ball and avert danger.
As the clock ticked towards the hour mark Ziyech threatened twice, first from a free kick and then with a shot from the edge of the box, but again Schmeichel snuffed out the threat.
Christian Pulisic missed a glorious chance to bag the winner for Chelsea, completely miscuing his shot from Romelu Lukaku’s ball across the face of goal and sending his effort wide, and the hosts were to come no closer as the game ended all square.
Chelsea round off their league campaign at home to relegated Watford on Sunday when Leicester, who are in ninth place on 49 points, host Southampton.
(Reuters/NAN)
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Diaspora
Ghana police nab two Nigerians for allegedly killing compatriot over internet fraud proceeds
Police officers who examined Mr Uzorchukwu’s body at the scene found a deep cut on his forehead and a towel stuffed into his mouth.
Heading 5
Family struggling to accept reality of Jayden Adams’ death after World Cup outing, says father
Adams played three matches at the World Cup in North America as South Africa reached the knockout round of the tournament for the first time in the country’s history.
NationWide
KWASU research teams secure $43,913, N83 million grants
Mr Shaykh-Luqman also encouraged the awardees to mentor early-career researchers.
Heading 4
Nigerians, other migrants on temporary visas in UK shouldn’t be allowed indefinite stay: Kemi Badenoch
The Tory leader said individuals who are not making a significant economic contribution over a 10-year period should not be allowed to stay indefinitely.
Africa
South African police arrest four suspects for drug traffickingÂ
Police said four male suspects, aged between 31 and 34, were arrested at different locations in Springbok and Okiep.
