Kelechi Iheanacho became the first player to score on all days of the week in a single Premier League season but his history-making feat was overshadowed as Leicester City’s bid for a top-four spot suffered a setback with a loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Iheanacho started on the bench in what was essentially a play-off for Champions League qualification between the teams who had contested the FA Cup final three days earlier at Wembley which Leicester won courtesy of Youri Tieleman’s strike.
Chelsea appeared intent on making up for that loss and twice had the ball in the net in the first-half but scorer Timo Werner was adjudged to have handled the first time and was ruled offside for the second.
The Blues, however, eventually scored a legitimate effort just a minute after the break as Antonio Ruediger bundled home off his thigh and Jorginho then made it 2-0 from the spot in the 66th-minute.
Iheanacho had been on the pitch for six minutes prior to Chelsea’s second and halved the deficit with a well taken strike from compatriot Wilfred Ndidi’s assist.
It was the 24-year-old’s 12th league goal of the season and the 16th goal he has scored in 2021. The strike also made him the first player in Premier League history to score on all days of the week in a single season.
Ayoze Perez missed a great chance to level matters late on as Chelsea held on to claim all three points and leapfrog the Foxes in the table.
The loss is a severe setback for Brendan Rodgers’ side who will fall out of the top four if Liverpool win at Burnley later Wednesday and with one game left, the Foxes face an anxious end to the season after being a permanent fixture in the top four all season.
It would mark yet another disappointing end to a Premier League campaign for Leicester after they missed out of Champions League qualification on the last day of last season.
