3. Chelsea's defence get away with a shocker
They got away with it here, but all of a sudden, Chelsea's defence is displaying some of the signs that made the past season a write-off. Their first-half performance continued in the same shaky vein as their Premier League showings against Swansea and Liverpool, with Okazaki's opener resulting from a comedy of errors.
Chelsea brought it entirely on themselves, and the sequence did little to suggest that their defensive resources are cut out to repel quality opponents. The move began when Marcos Alonso, the £23 million left-back who was making his debut here, gave the ball away midway inside his own half. Possession was swiftly moved out to Musa on the right flank. His delivery evaded Gary Cahill too easily, cannoned off an unprepared Azpilicueta and looped back toward Okazaki at the near post. Goalkeeper Asmir Begovic might have put up braver resistance. Instead, the striker was allowed to nudge a header past him, and the ball drifted a foot over the line before Azpilicueta managed to hook it clear.
It was shambolic stuff from every member of Chelsea's defence, except perhaps David Luiz, and there had been a warning sign moments previously, when Okazaki robbed Cahill in a dangerous area and both visiting centre-backs recovered to thwart the breaking Musa.
The second goal, 34 minutes in, was well-crafted, but Luiz might still have got closer to Okazaki when he ran unattended onto a well-weighted Andy King chip. The finish bobbled beyond Begovic, and just as with the first goal, Azpilicueta's attempt at a clearance came too late.
At this point, Leicester, full of verve and invention, simply looked too sharp and quick for Conte's side. The ship was steadied from halftime on. Aside from a Musa chance that arose when Luiz and Cahill were beaten by a Zieler goal kick, things could hardly have been much worse.
In mitigation, John Terry's injury absence is inconvenient, while Azpilicueta swapped flanks here to accommodate Alonso's first game. Yet an ensemble of seasoned, expensive professionals should be showing more aggression and leadership than this. With Terry hardly a solution for the future at 35 years old, it's an issue that needs to be addressed quickly.