- Chelsea scores within six minutes
- Alonso adds 2nd in 52'
- Conte: Costa out with back injury
Raise your hand if you thought Marcos Alonso would ease Chelsea’s scoring burden in the absence of Diego Costa.
Put it down, joker.
Alonso scored a goal in each half, and Pedro also scored, as Chelsea beat Leicester City 3-0 at King Power Stadium on Saturday.
The defender arrived from Fiorentina this summer, and boosted Chelsea seven points clear of second-place Tottenham. Liverpool can close the gap to five with a win over Manchester United on Sunday.
Leicester City sits 15th with 21 points.
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The first chance came Leicester’s way, with Ahmed Musa dancing around the edge to force Thibaut Courtois into a close-range save.
Chelsea went ahead in the sixth minute through Alonso, who slotted a square first-touch pass from Eden Hazard to make it 1-0.
Courtois again had to make a tight stop when Jamie Vardy sent a tricky ball toward the Chelsea goal, but Leicester had no one on the back post either.
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3 - Marcos Alonso is only the third Chelsea defender to score a brace in the Premier League (also John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic). Adventure
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 14, 2017
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Alonso added a second with a deflected goal, and fellow defender Gary Cahill got in on the act. The veteran didn’t score, but attempted a completely legit bicycle kick that was blocked out for a corner.
Alonso came within feet of scoring a third goal with a rip across the frame soon after his second.
Pedro provided the third goal as N’Golo Kante started a move that ended with a 1-2 between Willian and the scorer for a headed finish. 3-0, 71'