Leicester City

Five lessons learnt during Chelsea's come-back EFL Cup win over Leicester

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Chelsea came from behind to defeat Leicester City 4-2 and progress to the Fourth Round of the EFL Cup. Here are five lessons we learned.

LEICESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 20: Michy Batshuayi of Chelsea takes the ball past Wes Morgan of Leicester City during the EFL Cup Third Round match between Leicester City and Chelsea at The King Power Stadium on September 20, 2016 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

A Tuesday night was rescued from being a nightmare as Chelsea overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat Leicester City 4-2. The win brings Antonio Conte’s men to the fourth round of the EFL Cup with only three stages separating them from a Wembley final. Let’s take a look at five lessons from the dramatic victory.

Batshuayi has talent but is still raw – Travis Tyler

Many have begged Antonio Conte to grant Michy Batshuayi more minutes. The skipper finally gave him his chance against Premier League opposition from the start against Leicester City. And the result was, well, mixed.

Batshuayi managed a few decent chances on goal, but was kept off the scoresheet. He struggled with the pace of the game at times, and did not really look his best until he briefly played alongside Diego Costa.

This match showcased that Batshuayi is not a player knocking on the door to the starting XI. He is still very raw. For every moment of quality he also had several where he looked out of sorts. This is by no means an issue currently, and it still would not be surprising to find him in the starting lineup by the end of the season.

His link-up with Diego Costa showed quite a bit of promise in the event that Chelsea switches to a two-striker system. He looked much sharper next to Costa. With Ruben Loftus-Cheek as his partner, he was sometimes the lone striker. These were the moments he struggled the most. The talent is there, but it needs to be refined and used in the right way for Conte to get the best out of Batshuayi.

LEICESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 20 : Asmir Begovic of Chelsea celebrates after Cesc Fabregas of Chelsea scores to make it 2-4 during the EFL third round cup match between Leicester City and Chelsea at the King Power Stadium on September 20th , 2016 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)

Begovic deserves more first team chances – Travis Tyler

Asmir Begovic was almost certainly going to start against Leicester regardless of what else happened. But with Thibaut Courtois’ most recent comments and his poor form, this match took on new meaning for Begovic.

Perhaps this is why Begovic played aggressively. He commanded his box in a way that Chelsea fans have not seen in a very long time. He was not perfect, as the two Okazaki goals showed, but he was much more composed and in control than Courtois ever is.

Chelsea lacked confidence in the box throughout all of last season and in the opening weeks of this campaign. Begovic brought some back against Leicester. It did not feel as if every shot had the possibility of hitting the back of the net. And it certainly did not feel like a lost cause (or an impending booking) when he was one-on-one with a Leicester player.

Courtois has not inspired that kind of confidence since Chelsea’s 2014/15 title run. Begovic may not be the best goalkeeper in the Premier League, but Chelsea have just about one of the worst currently.

Courtois lost the right to be the first name on the team sheet week in and week out. Begovic has earned the right to start more than just League Cup games. Hopefully, after Courtois’ remarks, Conte sees the same and makes the bold choice of giving Begovic a run of league games.

LEICESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 20: Cesc Fabregas of Chelsea celebrates scoring his sides third goal during the EFL Cup Third Round match between Leicester City and Chelsea at The King Power Stadium on September 20, 2016 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Cesc Fabregas can not play in a midfield two – Dan McClue

Cesc Fabregas can’t defend, right? Right. Ok, so we are all on the same page.

The Spaniard has played in centre-midfield for previous teams – he’s not new to it. But the situation is different at Chelsea.

The main problem being, Fabregas is so slow. He can not cover the pitch well, not that he was ever particularly good at it. He likes to be in control of the ball, dictating the pace and direction of play. He does not want to worry about his positioning and defensive mindset.

Against Leicester he was relatively anonymous (bar one or two long balls) until Nathaniel Chalobah came on and released the shackles. After this, Fabregas played higher up, almost alongside Diego Costa and Eden Hazard.

Sure, it helped hugely that Leicester were down to ten men at this point, but the Spaniard’s advanced positioning helped break them down.

If Fabregas is to become a regular in the starting XI he needs to replace Nemanja Matic and not Oscar. Matic plays too far up the field as it is, essentially leaving Oscar and N’Golo Kante to do all the defensive work. With that being the case, the Blues may as well play Fabregas who has a lot more attacking threat.

Either way, Fabregas needs at least two central-midfield buddies to cover him.

LEICESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 20: Gary Cahill of Chelsea celebrates scoring his team’s opening goal during the EFL Cup Third Round match between Leicester City and Chelsea at The King Power Stadium on September 20, 2016 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

Defenders can’t defend, but they can score! – Dan McClue

Since the start of the 2015/16 season it has been clear to all (apart from the board) that Chelsea need new defenders. Centre-backs in particular have been the biggest problem.

Against Leicester this was no different. Gary Cahill and David Luiz were the two entrusted to protect Asmir Begovic and the Chelsea goal. They did very little to honour this.

Both made numerous mistakes and scrambled to cover each other. Leicester were clinical on two occasions, wasteful on others. Begovic bailed them both out at one point with a fantastic save on Ahmed Musa.

While the defenders can’t defend, they can sure as hell score. Cahill is dominant in the air. This paid dividends when Leicester foolishly left him unmarked at the back-post on a Fabregas corner.

???? Watch video @ChelseaFC goal by @GaryCahill 45+1 minutes #CFC @LCFC 2-1 @ChelseaFC pic.twitter.com/hkPgSlrp1U

— Matches CHELSEA FC (@CFC_KwQ8) September 20, 2016

A well-placed header, sending it back the way it came moments before halftime changed the shape of the game. There is a big difference between going in for a halftime team-talk at 2-0 and 2-1.

When Chelsea emerged from the changing room for the second half they needed only four minutes to find an equaliser. Cesar Azpilicueta pulled something out of a bag I’m convinced he didn’t even know he had. Volleying home from 20 yards showed technique any striker would be proud of.

After two of Chelsea’s defenders had atoned for their errors and dragged the team back level they left it to the attackers to finish the business in extra-time.

Job done.

LEICESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 20 : Manager Antonio Conte celebrates Cesc Fabregas’ goal to make it 2-3 in extra time during the EFL third round cup match between Leicester City and Chelsea at the King Power Stadium on September 20th , 2016 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)

Antonio Conte wants this trophy – Ajitesh Rasgotra

Traditionally, the League Cup is the competition which most big Premier League clubs take lightly. Given the fixture congestion that is modern football, those with European commitments use this minor tournament as an opportunity to rest key players.