Chelsea appear determined not to turn the championship into a close-run thing. Having spent much of yesterday's game at Stamford Bridge outclassing Leicester City with the quality of their brush strokes they then upset the paint pot and saw hopes of an easy victory come to a sticky end.
The result was still enough to take Chelsea above Arsenal into second place but they are only a point ahead, have played a game more and will lose ground if Wimbledon are beaten at Highbury tonight.
Chelsea were in urgent need of a win yesterday following the dreamy scoreless draw at Middlesbrough which had cost them a chance to go top again. But while much of yesterday's passing was indeed dreamlike a sense of urgency was slow to emerge.
Naturally, Thursday's return Cup Winners' Cup semi-final encounter with Real Mallorca, who have already drawn 1-1 at Stamford Bridge, was something of a distraction for Chelsea, who did not bring on Graeme le Saux and Gustavo Poyet until the second half. Yet Gianluca Vialli and his players cannot afford to ignore next season's Champions League into which only the top two English teams will gain direct entry.
In essence Chelsea outfoxed Leicester only to find themselves in something approaching disarray once O'Neill had brought on a shaggy old grizzly, Ian Marshall, as an extra striker. Marshall's power and accuracy in the air preyed on a familiar weakness in the Chelsea defence.
"Clearly we came here only to make up the numbers," remarked O'Neill dryly after the game, and for half the match this was how it looked. Dennis Wise, Roberto di Matteo and Jody Morris set up subtle whirls of movement which bewildered Leicester's midfield, while the quality of Gianfranco Zola's crosses provided two simple chances for Tore Andre Flo, both wasted.
Not that Flo's profligacy threatened to prove costly for Chelsea once Di Matteo's quick-thinking through pass had found Zola sprinting clear of Rob Ullathorne to touch the ball past the advancing Kasey Keller. Ullathorne then collided with his own goalkeeper, suffering fractures of tibia and fibula in the right leg which will keep him out for the rest of the season.
In the 68th minute Di Matteo's perception released Dan Petrescu on the right and after the Romanian's lob, having beaten Keller, had hit the near post it bounced back into the net off the incoming Matt Elliott. By then, however, Leicester had shown signs of a revival, with Rob Savage's volley through a crowd of players drawing a sharp save from Ed de Goey. At the other end Keller somehow kept out a diving header from Wise two minutes later.
For the final quarter of an hour Chelsea replaced Albert Ferrer with Michael Duberry because, as their coach Ray Wilkins explained later, they needed more height and strength at set-pieces. Sound though this thinking might have been, the change undoubtedly contributed to Chelsea's failure to win an eminently winnable match.
In the 83rd minute Andy Impey's cross from the left reached Elliott at the far post and Duberry's attempt to clear his firm downward header found its way into the net.
Then, with three minutes remaining, Steve Guppy turned inside a half-hearted challenge from Petrescu and curled an excellent shot inside the far post.
Chelsea: De Goey, Ferrer (Duberry 74), Leboeuf, Desailly, Petrescu, Wise, Morris (Poyet 70), Di Matteo, Goldbaek (Le Saux 46), Flo, Zola. Subs Not Used: Hitchcock, Forssell. Booked: Petrescu. Goals: Zola 30, Petrescu 69.
Leicester: Keller, Sinclair, Elliott, Ullathorne (Kaamark 32), Impey, Savage, Lennon, Gunnlaugsson (Marshall 70), Guppy, Cottee, Heskey. Subs Not Used: Miller, Fenton, Arphexad. Booked: Keller. Goals: Duberry 82 og, Guppy 88.
Referee: M Reed (Birmingham).
