Chelsea display old defensive frailties

If Chelsea are to embark on a late surge for a Champions League place this was the sort of fixture they needed to win. Certainly the circumstances appeared right for Chelsea's first away victory of the season in the Premiership.

Leicester, dealt a body blow by the departure of Neil Lennon to Celtic, had lost four of their previous five league fixtures. They were also in the process of trying to bring a spot of Italian finesse, in the person of the 36-year-old Roberto Mancini.

Without Marcel Desailly, who had a calf strain, the vulnerability of Claudio Ranieri's defence to the kind of crosses which are Steve Guppy's speciality was likely at some stage to present Leicester with a scoring opportunity. All the more surprising, therefore, that Guppy was allowed so much room to produce a centre which glanced off the head of Frank Leboeuf on its way to the far post, where Muzzy Izzet headed Leicester in front after 24 minutes.

From then on Leicester were a team transformed while Chelsea merely reverted to type. The problems which the vision of Zola and Dennis Wise, the aggression of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and the penetration of Jesper Gronkjaer had been causing should have encouraged Chelsea. Instead they seemed to regard another away defeat as inevitable.

Their football became so passive that by the time an attack moved within scoring range it got lost in a thicket of bodies. Just past the half-hour Sam Dalla Bona found himself in space in the Leicester half but finding no one to pass to ended up attempting a hopeless shot from 35 yards.

The moment summed up the moribund mood which has affected most of Chelsea's away performances this season. To be fair to them they did draw level 15 minutes from the end when Wise's cross found the Leicester centre backs looking at one another as Hasselbaink's head found the net.

Matt Elliott further punished the aerial deficiencies of Chelsea's defence to glance on a free-kick from Robbie Savage for the unmarked Gary Rowett to drive the ball past Carlo Cudicini.

The quality of cross which set up Izzet for a second goal five minutes after half-time, only for the midfielder to head wide, was evidence of Mancini's class, yet the Leicester newcomer who caught the eye was Junior Lewis, on loan from Gillingham.

LEICESTER: Royce, Rowett, Davidson, Elliott, Impey, Robbie Savage, Izzet, Guppy, Lewis, Mancini (Akinbiyi 60), Sturridge (Eadie 78). Subs Not Used: Price, Sinclair, Gunnlaugsson. Goals: Izzet 24, Rowett 76.

CHELSEA: Cudicini, Babayaro, Leboeuf, Melchiot, Ferrer, Gronkjaer (Stanic 64), Poyet (Jokanovic 41), Wise, Dalla Bona, Zola (Gudjohnsen 45), Hasselbaink. Subs Not Used: de Goey, Lambourde. Booked: Dalla Bona. Goal: Hasselbaink 75.

Referee: S Dunn (Bristol).