Chelsea have extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table to seven points after claiming a 3-0 win away at Leicester City on Saturday night.
Marcos Alonso bagged a brace, scoring in the sixth minute of the first half and of the second half, before Pedro wrapped up the points for the Blues in the 71st minute of the match to put the disappointment of the Tottenham Hotspur defeat behind them.
Much of the build-up around the game surrounded the absence of Diego Costa, who was reportedly omitted from the squad because of a bust-up between himself and members of the Blues backroom staff over a purported big-money move to the Chinese Super League.
Antonio Conte went on to reveal that the Spain international was missing from the squad because of pain in his back, and his absence was ultimately not felt by his teammates, who were a goal up at the King Power Stadium after just six minutes.
Chelsea worked the ball to Cesar Azpilicueta, whose cross into the box was not dealt with by the Foxes, allowing Eden Hazard to square the ball into the path of Alonso, and the Spaniard rifled a low shot into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.
No more goals were to come in the first half as the Blues failed to capitalise on their early momentum, while Leicester managed to step up a gear but lacked cutting edge in their opponents' final third.
Just six minutes into the second half, Alonso doubled the tally for himself and for his team, the wing-back finding space on the edge of the box after Leicester once again failed to clear a set piece, and he rattled an effort off the outstretched leg of Wes Morgan and into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.
The 26-year-old almost capped a great solo display with a hat-trick when his well-executed volley bounced narrowly wide of Kasper Schmeichel's left-hand upright, but Chelsea went on to get a third nonetheless when Pedro headed into an unguarded net after Willian dinked the ball over the Foxes stopper.
Giuseppe Labellarte
