Chelsea and Leicester fight out entertaining 2-2 draw

Updated: May 17, 2023, 12:17 am

A rare double from defender Antonio Rudiger earned Chelsea a point in an entertaining 2-2 draw with third-placed Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

Willy Caballero was called into action in the first half to make a smart save to deny Jamie Vardy in a half otherwise largely dominated by Chelsea, who again struggled to make their chances count in front of goal.

Abraham had an early penalty claim denied after VAR showed him falling at the feet of Caglar Soyuncu.

However, it did not take the visitors long after the break to take the lead, as Rudiger headed home his first league goal since October 2018 just over a minute into the second half.

The lead did not last long though, as Harvey Barnes found the net eight minutes later via a huge deflection, before the turnaround was complete in the 64th minute as Ben Chilwell slotted home to give Leicester the lead.

Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger celebrates scoring his side's first goal.
Getty

Rudiger had the final say, looping a header over Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel in the 71st minute to snatch a draw that means Leicester remain eight points clear of Lampard's side in fourth, who have won just four of their last 13 league games.

Lampard, who took the decision to drop regular goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, said after the game that it wasn't an easy choice. 

"It was a difficult decision to drop him, but the one that I made," Lampard said at a news conference.

The Chelsea manager also said that his team had missed Rudiger: "He brings an aggression and a presence. I think that is good. He is the more experienced of our centre-backs. I was delighted with his two goals."