Extra-Time Talking Points: Entertainment, Progression & Matching Chelsea
- Tony Cottee, Iwan Roberts and Matt Elliott reflect on Leicester City’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea
- The three ex-City stars were speaking on LCFC Radio’s Extra-Time broadcast
- The Foxes sit third in the Premier League table, two points behind Manchester City
At King Power Stadium on Saturday, the Foxes came from behind thanks to strikes from Harvey Barnes and Ben Chilwell before Chelsea drew level through Antonio Rüdiger’s second header of the game.
City’s promising league position, the character they have showed this season and their ability to match Chelsea were all discussed by the Extra-Time panel, which consisted of three former Foxes.
An entertaining game
Matt Elliott said: “I wouldn’t have taken the draw because I think Leicester aspire to be better than that. I thought it was a good game between two good sides. It was mentioned by some people as a low-quality game, but I’m not sure about that. It was an entertaining game for sure and it could have gone either way. In the end, Leicester were probably frustrated that they didn’t win it.”
City’s progression
Tony Cottee said: “It’s a really good indicator that you can get a point at home to Chelsea and you’re disappointed. If you look at the table, there’s a 12-point gap to fifth place now. It’s a big gap and it’s a fantastic achievement. I remember the days when we played against Chelsea and they were a great side, so to be disappointed to get the draw is a sign of how far Leicester has come.”
Making up ground
Iwan Roberts said: “I thought it was a really, really good point considering Leicester made up ground on Man City, who lost on Sunday, and you’re going into the game on the back of that massive disappointment against Aston Villa on Tuesday. The players have done ever so well to lift themselves going into that game.”
Matching the Blues
Matt Elliott said: “More often than not, when we played Chelsea, it was a different proposition. They were top-class superstars, but if we got a draw against Chelsea, or the odd victory, that would be great. It was more often than not a glorious defeat, with Gianfranco Zola and Frank Leboeuf working their magic. This Chelsea team have their own qualities, but the way Leicester played, they matched them step by step.”
Chelsea’s double
Iwan Roberts said: “You’re going to concede goals and that’s part and parcel of the game, but it’s the manner that Leicester have conceded in the last few games that they will be disappointed with. Chelsea’s first goal was a poor one to concede, but the second one was a fantastic header because he (Antonio Rüdiger) picked his spot.”
Organised Foxes
Tony Cottee said: “I think the frustrating thing is that they probably haven’t quite got the results that they deserved. With the chances they had against Chelsea, they could have easily won the game. They were really unlucky against Liverpool at Anfield and the most disappointing result was probably the performance at Manchester United. They haven’t got the results against the top teams, but what I like about this current team is that they haven’t perhaps been firing on all cylinders, but when they go a goal down, they don’t panic – they stay organised.”