Leicester City vs Chelsea. Premier League.
The King Power StadiumAttendance32,140.
Leicester 0-0 Chelsea: Finishing costs both sides in goalless draw
But Chelsea hold on to third place in the Premier League table
Sunday 12 May 2019 18:32, UK
Poor finishing cost Leicester and Chelsea a win, as the two sides played out a 0-0 draw in the final game of the season.
Ross Barkley should have opened the scoring early on for Chelsea when Jorginho chipped the ball over the Leicester defence for his fellow midfielder to run onto but his fierce shot was blocked by Kasper Schmeichel's chest.
Cesar Azpilicueta slipped not once, but twice, to allow Jamie Vardy a run through on goal but when the crunch moment came he sent a poor pass to Youri Tielemans, who could not fashion a meaningful chance from a poor angle, allowing Willy Caballero the chance to save.
The best chance of the opening period fell to Gonzalo Higuain after fine work between Willian and Marcos Alonso allowed the latter to send a pass across the six-yard box but the Argentine bungled the opportunity with the goal gaping.
There were fond farewells for Leicester as Shinji Okazaki and Danny Simpson were brought on for their final appearances, much to the appreciation of the home supporters.
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For Chelsea, Eden Hazard eventually came on in the second half, potentially for the last time as rumours about his future continue.
Tielemans had the chance to win the match late on when he found space on the edge of the area but he smashed a wayward shot high and wide.
The second half had a relaxed feel to it, with a lack of quality in the final third.
The point confirmed Chelsea's third-placed finish, as Tottenham also drew on the final day.
The managers
Maurizio Sarri: "I think that we played well at the end. Probably we did not have the right energy, the right physical and mental energy to win the match.
"The season was good. We were in trouble two, three months ago but we were able to react very well. In the end, third place is a very good result.
"We are very tired, we need to rest."
On Hazard: "Eden today was tired, of course, he was on the bench. We tried to win the match with him for the last 25 minutes.
"We know for the fans he is very important. We know Eden has played here at Chelsea for seven seasons; he tried in every match to do his best and now it is time to respect his decision. I hope he will remain with us."
Brendan Rodgers: "It was a really, really good game for a 0-0. There were opportunities missed by both teams. You could see there was intent in both teams to win.
On Simpson and Okazaki: "They both leave as champions and legends. Of course, it was their last chance for them to say goodbye. Both great servants and they leave here with the full respect of the players and supporters."
Opta stats
- There has been just one goal scored in the last three Premier League meetings between Leicester and Chelsea.
- This was Chelsea's fourth goalless draw in the Premier League this season, their most since 2013-14 (also four).
- Chelsea won just two of their last nine Premier League away games this season (W2 D2 L5), drawing their last two.
- Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has faced Chelsea more often than any other Premier League side without winning (nine games - W0 D5 L4).
- Chelsea ended the season in third position, the 13th time in the last 16 seasons they've finished in the top three of the Premier League.
- Willy Caballero, aged 37 years and 226 days, became Chelsea's second oldest Premier League player - only Mark Schwarzer has featured for the Blues at an older age (41y 217d in May 2014).
Man of the Match - Ricardo Pereira
The Portuguese full-back offered plenty of energy down the right, instigating a number of counter-attacks and kept Willian and then Hazard quiet, which was impressive on a quiet day for football at the King Power Stadium.