After Frank Lampard was left peeved by Chelsea’s failure to sign a striker in January, Antonio Rüdiger did his best to soothe the manager’s concerns, the centre-back marking his 100th appearance for Chelsea by heading in two goals. But that was not enough to close the gap on Leicester, who earned a share of the points thanks to goals by Harvey Barnes and Ben Chilwell. The result leaves Brendan Rodgers’ side comfortable in third place, eight points about fourth-place Chelsea, who can feel the breath of the chasing pack on their backs. Last season Chelsea finished third, 20 points above Leicester. But Rodgers’ team have improved since then and the Londoners have not. Lampard is more concerned about the progress made clubs just beneath him, suggesting that the January purchases made by Manchester United and Sheffield United, in particular, make Chelsea underdogs in the fight for the last Champions League qualification spot even if Chelsea occupy it for now. Continue reading...