Mixed Feelings For Puel After Chelsea Draw

- Leicester City draw 0-0 with Premier League champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
- Ben Chilwell is sent off for a second bookable offence in the 68th minute
- Manager Claude Puel felt his side could have been ahead by that stage of the game
- The point closes the gap to seventh-placed Burnley to three points

The Foxes created a host of chances throughout the match as they took the game to the hosts in an entertaining 90 minutes of football in the capital, despite being reduced to 10 men after the dismissal of Ben Chilwell.

Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and Shinji Okazaki all had chances to give Puel’s men the lead, but Chelsea’s defence held firm as in the end, the second yellow card for Chilwell meant City were happy to settle for a point.

Speaking afterwards, Puel was thrilled with the creativity of his side and felt they should have been ahead by the time they went down to 10 men with just over 20 minutes left on the clock.

“I am happy with our game,” said Puel. “It was a good game. At the end though, the feeling is mixed. It was a good point with 10 against 11 at the end after the sending off.

“I think we needed a good clinical edge to finish [the chances] but at times we were unlucky. I think we deserved to lead the game.

“Perhaps we deserved a different result at the end and maybe we lost two points, but of course it’s a little disappointment at the end. They are the champions and they play with good quality at home so it’s a good feeling to see my players with this quality on the pitch and all the chances we created this afternoon.

“It was important for us to keep the point at the end. It was the minimum.”

Chilwell will now miss Tuesday’s FA Cup Third Round Replay with Fleetwood Town but there was good news on the excellent Matty James, who was withdrawn late on with a knock – with the manager revealing that it was a kick that would not rule him out of any fixtures.

Despite the frsutrations that the Foxes weren’t able to turn their quality into goals on the day, Puel saw plenty of positives to take forward into the next round of fixtures.

He said: “It was a little frustrating but it’s important to continue this hard work on the pitch. Second half we weren’t as fresh perhaps, but we kept our structure on the game with the same quality. After the sending off it was important that we kept together to keep the point.

“We need to keep this same quality and same attitude in the next games and training sessions. To play against the Champions like we did this afternoon gives us a good feeling.”