Chelsea 1-0 Leicester City Player Ratings: Marc Cucurella Screamer Helps The Blues Regain Premier League Top-4 Spot

Chelsea bounced back into the Premier League top-4 with a gritty 1-0 win over Leicester City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday (9 March, 2025). It took a powerful long-distance effort from Marc Cucurella in the 60th minute to help the Blues get three points against a sturdy Leicester City side.

Wesley Fofana returned to the Chelsea starting lineup after a lengthy injury lay-off, as they started attacking the visitors from the get-go. Palmer had an early penalty shout after going down on the box after a tussle with Luke Thomas in the 2nd minute but saw that denied. The visitors’ first shot on goal came in the 7th minute when Bilal El Khannous’ effort was easily denied by Robert Sanchez.

Palmer saw a shot deflected wide a minute later before getting a big chance to end his six-match Premier League goal drought with the penalty. However, he saw his tame attempt saved really well. Christopher Nkunku also scuffed a decent chance in the 23rd minute, failing to score a header from close range. Chelsea were fortunate not to concede in the 26th minute after Tosin Adarabioyo positioned a header onto his post, only for Levi Colwill to make a vital clearance.

Moises Caicedo witnessed a shot from outside the area saved in the 28th minute, with the Blues being frustrated by the visitors’ stubborn defensive work. Nkunku saw a shot tipped over the bar and a header go wide towards the end of the first half.

Chelsea came out firing on the second half, trying to work their way into more probable goal-scoring position. Jamie Vardy had a shot saved in the 53rd minute by Sanchez, while Pedro Neto saw a shot go wide a minute later. It took something truly special to open up this game.

Cucurella provided that in spectacular fashion in the 60th minute, producing a blistering effort from outside the box to help his side take the lead. The Blues almost doubled their lead seven minutes later as Hermansen denied Enzo Fernandez. Chelsea were not at their best with the counter-attacks in the game, failing to properly finish off their chances. Fortunately for them, Leicester could not score a late equalizer and the Blues were able to get a narrow win.

Chelsea Player Ratings

GK – Robert Sanchez – 6/10

Sanchez was a bit shaky with the crosses, missing one entirely before Colwill’s huge clearance in the first half. Apart from that, he did a decent job by pulling off some nice saves to keep Leicester at bay.

RB – Wesley Fofana – 6.5/10

Looked sharp despite missing the last few months of action because of injuries. Read the Leicester City moves really well, making a few challenges and proving his quality as a full-back.

CB – Tosin Adarabioyo – 7/10

Apart from that moment he almost scored an own goal in the first half, Tosin was compelling and assertive with his defensive work. He popped up in the right areas to make a lot of clearances, neutralizing Leicester’s crossing tactics.

CB – Levi Colwill – 7.5/10

The Englishman was rock solid at the back, making a huge goal-saving clearance before the half-hour mark. Won a lot of duels to frustrate Jamie Vardy & co and was able to move the ball forward really well.

LB – Marc Cucurella – 8.5/10

Cucurella was a real livewire and a driving force for Chelsea on the left flank and was able to see his hard work pay off. Produced an amazing finish to put his side in the lead and he was defensively stable too.

CM – Moises Caicedo – 8/10

Caicedo absolutely bossed the midfield battle to run the show for Chelsea, showcasing a lot of energy and efficiency with his work in the middle. He won a huge number of duels, popping up in the right places to disrupt Leicester City’s movement and helping his side dominate them.

CM – Enzo Fernandez – 7/10

Enzo was a positive energy in the Chelsea midfield and a real creative force, moving the ball forward and enjoying the amount of freedom given to him. He delivered some quality passes into the box and witnessed a simple pass to Cucurella resulting in his goal. Had a couple of shots saved by Hermansen in the second half.

RW – Pedro Neto – 7/10

Neto was a real unpredictable threat for Chelsea in the frontline, moving all around the opposition half to cause them a major headache. He created a few nice chances and worked really hard despite sustaining a head injury in the first half.

AM – Cole Palmer – 4/10

A bad day at the office for the Englishman. Things just didn’t go right for him, as he missed his first-ever Premier League penalty for Chelsea. Lacked that spark in the final third, misplacing passes in key areas and just not being able to convert chances clinically before being substituted.

LW – Jadon Sancho – 7/10

Sancho had an eventful outing in the wide areas, tormenting the Leicester City defenders with his clever movement. He earned the penalty for them in the first half, and completed a lot of exciting dribbles to get into key areas. Perhaps a bit unlucky not to get an assist despite his impressive delivery.

CF – Christopher Nkunku – 5/10

Nkunku could not put in a compelling performance in having to lead the line for his side. He was able to get at the end of a few nice chances, but his final product was awry as his attempts just didn’t have enough power in them.

SUB – Tyrique George – 6.5/10

A diligent and energetic figure on the right wing, helping his side maintain control in that area.

SUB – Trevoh Chalobah – 6/10

Helped his side get the job done.

SUB – Josh Acheampong – N/R

Manager – Enzo Maresca – 6/10

Maresca ensured his side was able to totally dominate the possession and be patient with their attacking patterns. He would be concerned by the poor finishing from some of his players, and had to rely on individual brilliance for the goal. Needs to work hard on improving Chelsea’s finishing skills.

Leicester City Player Ratings

GK – Mads Hermansen – 8/10

The young goalkeeper put in a heroic effort for Leicester City and tried as much as possible to help them get a result. He produced an amazing save by perfectly denying Palmer’s penalty, and ended up making seven saves in the game to frustrate the hosts.

RB – James Justin – 6/10

Justin did a decent job at keeping Chelsea quiet through the right, but was overwhelmed by a flurry of bodies moving through that side.

CB – Wout Faes – 6/10

Faes was an energetic figure for his side in his box, making a number of crucial clearances and reading their moves well. Could’ve perhaps done better to close down Cucurella before his goal.

CB – Conor Coady – 6.5/10

Coady held together a pretty sturdy defensive line for his side, not allowing them to give that much empty space to the Chelsa players. He popped up in the right areas to make some nice clearances too.

CB – Luke Thomas – 7/10

Thomas was put under quite a bit of pressure because of Chelsea’s reliance through his side, but mostly held his own against them. He popped up with some vital challenges, not allowing any major chance to happen in and around his area.

LB – Victor Kristiansen – 4.5/10

Kristiansen had a nightmare defending against Jadon Sancho’s pace, not being able to maintain his composure. Gave away a sill penalty for an unnecessary challenge on Sancho and looked uncomfortable all game long.

CM – Wilfred Ndidi – 6.5/10

Ndidi worked his socks off to cover a lot of ground in the midfield for his side, working hard to stop Chelsea’s flow through the central areas. He made a number of tackles and frustrated the Blues with his diligent defensive work.

CM – Boubakary Soumare – 6/10

Soumare did a decent job at helping his side sit deep and soak pressure, but couldn’t nullify the threat of the Chelsea midfielder. Uninspiring with his attacking work before being taken off.

CM – Bilal El Khannous – 5.5/10

El Khannous tested Sanchez with a long ranger attempt in the first half, only to see it easily saved. Produced some admirable defensive contribution, but lacked a bite in the counter-attacks.

CF – Patson Daka – 5/10

Daka had a pretty uneventful clash against Chelsea, not really getting any service to cause them trouble. Couldn’t create anything or get into goal-scoring areas.

CF – Jamie Vardy – 4.5/10

Vardy was almost invisible in the first half, having zero impact on the game. Tried being troublesome with his movement in the second half, but couldn’t really cause Chelsea any harm.

SUB – Harry Winks – 6/10

Added a bit more energy to his side, but couldn’t really help them going forward.

SUB – Facundo Buonanotte – 5/10

Failed to provide that creative spark that he was brought on to give Leicester.

SUB – Bobby Reid – 6/10

Quite invisible in his late cameo.

SUB – Ricardo Pereira – 6/10

Put in an energetic display late on, getting a shot on target late on.

SUB – Stephy Mavdidi – N/R

Manager – Ruud van Nistelrooy – 5/10

Van Nistelrooy’s overall defensive structure was pretty solid, as he inspired his side to soak up a lot of pressure to frustrate Chelsea. However, he had zero plan when it comes to attacking the Blues, with Leicester looking clueless in the counter-attacks. Suffers another loss for trying to be too protective.

Sportsdunia’s Man of the Match for this match goes to Marc Cucurella.