Enzo Maresca told his Chelsea team to do something different that surprised Leicester and secured 2-1 win

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca surprised many, including the Leicester team, by making changes to his starting eleven at the King Power Stadium. Ahead of the game, Maresca had said that the only injury in his squad was captain Reece James, but when the team sheets were released, he had surprisingly left out Malo Gusto, who is normally the preferred right-back.

The French defender had been so impressive that he retained his place even after Reece James was fit to return. However, Gusto's spot was taken by Benoît Badiashile, which meant that Wesley Fofana, making his return to the King Power, was shifted to the left side of the defense.

But Gusto wasn't the only notable absentee from the matchday squad—Pedro Neto, who had scored while on international duty, was also missing. It was later explained that his absence was a precautionary measure, as he had taken a heavy knock during international duty with Chelsea.

As a result, Maresca started João Félix on the left and switched to a three-at-the-back formation. Instead of asking Marc Cucurella to invert and help the midfield, Maresca instructed the Spanish left-back to maintain width in order to create overloads.

Maresca is known for using at least one of his full-backs in an inverted role to support the midfield, but here, he opted to stretch Leicester's backline, which clearly worked. In the first half, Chelsea dominated possession with 80%, while Leicester struggled to understand Chelsea's tactical approach.

Nicolas Jackson opened the scoring with a brilliant finish, and given that Chelsea has never lost a Premier League match when leading at halftime, Enzo Fernández’s second goal sealed the win. A late strike from Jordan Ayew was a deserved consolation for Leicester, who had improved significantly in the second half.

Chelsea are now just a point behind Manchester City, who play Tottenham later in the day.