Diego Costa scored his second Chelsea goal in as many appearances to help the Blues on their way to a 2-0 victory over Leicester City in their first home league game of the season this afternoon.
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As expected, Chelsea saw much of the ball in the opening few minutes, and Andre Schurrle flashed a shot over the bar before Costa went close in the 12th minute with a measured effort from a tight angle which rolled wide of the post.
Leicester continued to defend stoutly and, in fact, the biggest cheer of the first half greeted Didier Drogba, who left his seat on the bench after half an hour to warm up on his return to Stamford Bridge.
The visitors almost took a shock lead shortly after when Thibaut Courtois was forced to palm away Riyad Mahrez's strong 25-yard strike.
Eden Hazard was unusually subdued in the opening period, but his pass in the 37th minute almost set Costa up for the opener. The Spaniard's low drive was turned behind by a lunging Wes Morgan as Leicester's dogged display frustrated the hosts.
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In the early stages of the second half, Chelsea improved as Oscar's curling effort rebounded back off the foot of the post before Branislav Ivanovic forced Kasper Schmeichel into a flying save.
Then came two massive chances for Nugent. First, he was put through one-on-one with Courtois after Nemnaja Matic was caught in possession, but he fired at the feet of the Belgian stopper.
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Three minutes later, Nugent was foiled again by the goalkeeper in a similar situation, while Cesc Fabregas almost scored a delightful chip at the other end, only for Schmeichel to tip the dropping effort over the bar.
Nugent was made to pay for his misses shortly after the hour when summer signing Costa scored his second goal in as many games when his low drive crept underneath the scrambling Schmeichel.
Fifteen minutes later, Hazard made sure of all three points with a characteristic goal as he cut in from the left and blasted a right-footed shot into the back of the net to ensure that Chelsea maintained their 100% start.
Kristian Johnson
