Volatile Chelsea take revenge over Leicester and put Champions League destiny in own hands

• Eight thousand fans watch Chelsea move closer to sealing Champions League place

• Home side overcome Var error over 'penalty' to beat tired Cup winners

• Victory at Aston Villa on Sunday guarantees top-four finish

• Man City vs Chelsea, Champions League final 2021 live

The great Thomas Tuchel Champions League revival at Chelsea is one win from completion, from ninth place at the end of January to now within a whisker of a top four spot, and finalists later this month as well – although they remain a side of some volatility.

There was a major ruckus on the touchline in the closing stages of this game between Saturday’s FA Cup finalists and it was by no means the only flashpoint in a strange but engrossing evening at the fag-end of an exhausting season. With fans back in the stands and thus able to abuse referee Mike Dean in person; and Timo Werner flagged offside for the 41st time – the Premier League leader in that regard – there was much that felt familiar.

Not least for Leicester City, FA Cup winners but now experiencing a slump that may take them out the Champions League places once again. A win for Liverpool at Turf Moor on Wednesday night would put them into the top four above Brendan Rodgers’s side on goal difference and the remaining two places would come down to the final day on Sunday. Tuchel’s team are in a solid position and need a win from their trip to Aston Villa to be sure. It could be goal difference that eventually separates Leicester and Liverpool.

It has been a remarkable turnaround by Tuchel whose side won a crucial game after FA Cup defeat to Leicester at Wembley. This match should have been out of sight for them with two second half goals from Antonio Rudiger and then Jorginho from the spot by the time Leicester had their first attempt on Edouard Mendy’s goal after 70 minutes. But Chelsea let Leicester back into the match and the substitute Kelechi Iheanacho scored a goal that ensured a tense end to the game.

The touchline pushing and shoving was inconclusive although Leicester’s Daniel Amartey was later booked. There may also have been hostility from the Chelsea players towards the unused substitute for dressing room footage from Saturday of him tossing the Chelsea FA Cup final pennant to the ground.

Certainly, there was no love lost between the two teams and with the added spice of fans in Stamford Bridge for the first time since December – 8,000 of them making up for their absent comrades with the usual complaints about the Video Assistant Referee (Var) and Dean. Curiously their affection for Werner was unwavering. Tuchel stuck with his misfiring German striker who went on to endure an interesting evening – two disallowed goals, one penalty denied him by Var and another given.

The Chelsea home support seem to feel a kinship with the perennially offside German, who desperately wanted to score a goal but was thwarted at every turn. He had only played in front of fans at his new club twice before this and there appears to be great patience. He was certainly unlucky not to be given a first half penalty when Wesley Fofana seemed to kick him in the back of the leg after 19 minutes. If Dean could not see that it was mystifying why the Var Andre Marriner failed to do so.

The first-half substitution of N’Golo Kante was done, Tuchel said, as a precautionary measure over his hamstring and the Chelsea manager said he hoped it was not serious. There was no argument with the two Werner goals disallowed in the first half although by then the home fans had lost faith in Var over the Fofana penalty incident and were questioning everything.

For the first disallowed goal on 22 minutes, Werner was a long way offside and the officials spotted it in real time. The second disallowed goal on 34 minutes was judged by Var to be a handball and it was a handball because once again Werner misjudged a simple header, as he did in the first half at Wembley on Saturday from a Thiago Silva cross, and the ball struck his arm before crossing the line.

The goal for Chelsea came swiftly after half-time, a simple job for Rudiger to push a corner that was poorly defended by Leicester’s back four over the line with his thigh. At that point the away side looked in trouble. Rodgers had made two changes to the FA Cup final side – the replacement of the injured Jonny Evans and putting James Maddison, a substitute on Saturday, in for Iheanacho.

The Englishman played as a pair with Perez behind Jamie Vardy and there were extremely slim pickings for all of them. When he was replaced with Iheanacho, a long walk around the pitch for Maddison via the Shed End awaited. When the home fans made some unfavourable comparison between the Leicester man and Mason Mount, Maddison responded by miming lifting the FA Cup.

Five minutes later, Leicester fell two behind when finally Werner won his penalty. Var considered this a foul on the forward by Fofana and judged it to have taken place inside the area. “Very, very harsh,” Rodgers said later. Jorginho took the penalty with the customary skip, sat Kasper Schmeichel down and popped in his seventh successful spot-kick of the season. Those seven penalties make him Chelsea’s top goalscorer in the league.

Having finally got their favourable Var review, Chelsea’s intensity waned. There was a goal for Leicester when Iheanacho was found in considerable space by Wilfred Ndidi after a quick turnover of possession and scored easily.

“It was always going to be tough,” Rodgers said. “We will see where we are after 38 games. We have beaten the Europa League finalists [Manchester United], won the FA Cup for the first time in our history and all we can do now is get three points.” The Leicester manager said that his side had shown they can “win big games”. One very big game at the very end of a long season looms.

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09:17 PM

Sam Wallace's match report is incoming

And will appear at the top of this blog. Chelsea definitely deserved to win but they need to take more chances in open play and be vigilant when apparently cruising.

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09:15 PM

Full time Chelsea 2 Leicester 1

Chelsea move a point ahead of Leicester and their top four destiny is in their own hands. Leicester now have to beat Spurs and hope either Chelsea or Liverpool slip up.

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09:13 PM

90+9 min Chelsea 2 Leicester 1

Perez sends a long diagonal in from the left and Chelsea shepherd it out for a goalkick. Rudiger and Iheanacho go chest to chest over moral philosophy.

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09:12 PM

90+7 min Chelsea 2 Leicester 1

Leicester free-kick after a foul by Giroud in the opposition box. Schmeichel knocks it long and back come Leicester.

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09:10 PM

90+5 min Chelsea 2 Leicester 1

A Leicester sub, Daniel Amartey is booked, as is Ricardo when Mike Dean brokers peace.

No love lost between these two sides.

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09:09 PM

90+3 min Chelsea 2 Leicester 1

Big brawl on the Leicester right after Rudiger tries to take revenge on Ricardo for his foul on Chilwell. Big pile-in involving Ndidi and both benches eventually. Schmeichel comes in to throw some shapes too.

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09:07 PM

90+1 min Chelsea 2 Leicester 1

Chelsea send on Giroud for Werner.

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09:06 PM

90 min Chelsea 2 Leicester 1

Here's the late chance for Leicester to snatch an undeserved point - Ricardo bombed beyond Chilwell, pulled back the perfect pass to the left of the D and Perez blazed a 20-yard shot over the bar. Rodgers stamps his foot in frustration. There will be five minutes of injury time.

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09:05 PM

88 min Chelsea 2 Leicester 1

Nididi is booked for standing in top of Mount's foot after the Chelsea player of the season was too quick in getting rid of the ball for him. Chelsea lose the ball immediately from the free-kick in the Leicester half and the away side come back upfield.

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09:03 PM

87 min Chelsea 2 Leicester 1

Chelsea make their second substitution: Azpilicueta is replaced by Zouma.

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09:01 PM

85 min Chelsea 2 Leicester 1

Werner and Pulisic link up with a slick passing move down the right that Castagne interrupts by stabbing the ball away from the USA international and out for a corner that City clear.

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08:58 PM

83 min Chelsea 2 Leicester 1

Chelsea free-kick to the right of the box continues the trend of garbage set-piece delivery that has littered this match.

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08:58 PM

81 min Chelsea 2 Leicester 1

Chelsea's supporters are a little rattled as Leicester string a few passes together and Iheanacho ends the move with a snap shot from too far out to Mendy's right. The keeper sends the ball back upfield, Werner takes it on and runs at Fofana who fouls him in the tackle but not in a sinister way.

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08:55 PM

79 min Chelsea 2 Leicester 1

Chelsea free-kick on the left, five yards in from the corner flag, two from the byline. Chilwell bends it in and when it's headed out Rudiger tries an overhead but although German, he's no Klaus Fischer. There's one for the teenagers. Beckenbauer, Fischer, who next, Uwe Seeler?

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08:53 PM

77 min Chelsea 2 Leicester 1

Oh, hello. Weak touch from Kovacic on the right, Ndidi snaps into the tackle and feeds it up to the D where Ihreanacho, lethal since Christmas, sweeps a left-foot shot into the bottom right corner. A minute earlier he had spun and scuffed a shot through Thiago Silva;s legs that crept a foot or so wide.

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08:51 PM

GOOOOOOAL!!! Chelsea 2 Leicester 1

Chelsea 2 Leicester 1 (Iheanacho)

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08:50 PM

74 min Chelsea 2 Leicester 0

Ndidi is penalised for a foul on Pulisic around halfway. They were trading possession up the Leicester left for a minute or so but nothing dangerous came from it

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08:48 PM

72 min Chelsea 2 Leicester 0

Vardy is limping. Looks to have something wrong with his calf.

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08:47 PM

70 min Chelsea 2 Leicester 0

Perez has a dig from 25 yards and fires his shot straight down Mendy's throat.

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08:43 PM

68 min Chelsea 2 Leicester 0

Leicester send on Ricardo for Albrighton.

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08:43 PM

66 min Chelsea 2 Leicester 0

Trademark Jorginho pen, he waits and waits, sitting Schmeichel down before poking it into the bottom right corner. It's his seventh penalty of the season and it means he is now the club's top scorer in the Premier League this season.

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08:41 PM

GOOOOOAL!

Chelsea 2 Leicester 0 (Jorginho, pen)

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08:41 PM

VAR penalty check

Werner is awarded a penalty for an ankle tap by Fofana as he ran away from goal.

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08:40 PM

63 min Chelsea 1 Leicester 0

Tielemans again with an underhit corner that Chilwell heads out. They'll forgive Tilemans his rubbish crossing today, he can live off that goal for a lifetime. Werner breaks from the header and pumps a shot straight at Schmeichel but he may well have been offside.

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08:38 PM

61 min Chelsea 1 Leicester 0

James in a mix-up with Thiago Silva concedes an unnecessary corner on the left. Tielemans' corner is headed out at the near post by James and Leicester come again down the right. Albrighton shapes to cross but Chilwell is too quick for him and blocks the cross behind for a corner.

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08:35 PM

60 min Chelsea 1 Leicester 0

Leicester substitution: Maddison departs and Iheanacho enters play for the last half hour.

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08:34 PM

58 min Chelsea 1 Leicester 0

It's going to be Iheanacho coming on for Leicester. Rudiger, meanwhile, goes on another rangey run up the left and when he loses it he's egged on by the crowd to win it back off Perez.

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08:31 PM

55 min Chelsea 1 Leicester 0

Leicester can't get any possession. Mendy or Praet for Perez might allow them to get a toehold in midfield.

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08:29 PM

53 min Chelsea 1 Leicester 0

After lengthy treatment, Mount gets up and his left knee is deemed robust enough to continue.

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08:27 PM

50 min Chelsea 1 Leicester 0

Chelsea enjoy a full minute's possession, just stroking it around the back four and midfield until Perez finally intercepts and wriggles away. He is stopped by Mount, painfully, knee hitting knee inadvertently.

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08:24 PM

48 min Chelsea 1 Leicester 0

Chilwell's corner from the right, a fizzing inswinger, is glanced on by Vardy at the near post as Azpilicueta challenged him and Rudiger knocked it in at the far post with his hip, turning his body into the perfect position to convert it by any means necessary.

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08:22 PM

GOOOOOOAL!!

Chelsea 1-0 Leicester (Rudiger)

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08:22 PM

46 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Mount sends Chilwell down the left but he overhits his cross but they salvage a corner when Thomas stumbles before he can clear.

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08:15 PM

Half-time chat

Revolves around how blatant a penalty it was when Tielemans kicked Werner's foot. As Graeme Souness pointed out, Mike Dean penalising Werner (or VARner as Sky is calling him, b'dum tish) is bad enough. VAR not intervening is inexplicable.

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08:06 PM

Half-time Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Chelsea dominant throughout but have not scored. Mount has been magnificent, Pulisic incisive and Werner a mixture of brilliant and infuriating. Leicester have been at their best when the centre-backs have been able to get out into midfield but Maddison in a withdrawn role at inside-left has not had enough ball because they've been under the cosh for so long.

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08:03 PM

45+1 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

The first of two minutes' injury time begins with Schmeichel holding on to the ball as long as possible before earning the ref's wrath. Leicester could do with a change of formation/personnel at half-time.

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08:02 PM

44 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Castagne gallops forward, lengthening his stride then fires a pass between Rudiger and Chilwell for Perez to collect. He cuts infield and laces a cross through the six-yard box that looked menacing but even the jet-heeled Vardy had no chance of reaching.

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08:00 PM

42 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Werner is acting as if he believes the whole world is against him as he gets into Mike Dean's ear again. Brilliant from Mount on the right to beat Thomas, scoot infield and whip a near-post daisycutter that Pulisic, because of the angle of his run and pace of the cross, can't flick on goal.

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07:58 PM

40 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Rare Leicester break and they settle for a corner to take some air out of the balloon. Chilwell heads the first one behind for another and the second goes all the way back to Schemichel after a strong header.

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07:56 PM

38 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Leicester are totally under the cosh here and finding respite only through free-kicks. Rodgers is making the 'more energy' universal hand gesture. Needs more than that. Have to get Ndidi on the ball rather than manning the defensive pumps.

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07:54 PM

36 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Something that sounds like 'Duck VAR' now resounds around the 8,000. Far more catchy. Jorginho hits a flighted 40-yard diagonal from left to right. Azpilicueta hooks it back from the byline to Mount who crashes a right-foot shot over the bar.

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07:52 PM

NO GOOOOOOAL!!

Handball. They needed goal-line tech to award the goal as Schmeichel scrambled it away and VAR to rule it out for handball. 'It's not football anymore,' sing the Chelsea fans. A new 'Game's Gone' anthem. Needs work.

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07:51 PM

GOOOOOOOAL!!?

Werner seemed to put it in with his arm from the corner.

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07:50 PM

33 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Werner makes an incursion into the box from the right and is forced to shoot with his right. Castagne slides in to block.

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07:49 PM

32 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Perez hacks down Chilwell as the left-back bombed forward. Yellow card. Kante departs to be replaced by Kovacic. As Martin Tyler says with an ominous tone: 'It's only 10 days to the Champions League final.'

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07:46 PM

31 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Mateo Kovacic is getting stripped and ready to come on. Kante is limping. Left hamstring?

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07:45 PM

30 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Thiago Silva meets the corner from the right and banjos his header over the bar.

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07:45 PM

29 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Mount takes the ball into the box from the left and after he is tackled and the ball pops straight up, he wins the header by planting his feet, back to goal, then spins to flash a shot that his deflected over the bar. Corner.

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07:43 PM

27 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Tielemans takes the corner that parts Chilwell's barnet at the near post and reaches the unmarked Vardy who tries to fade a cute header in at the right post but sent it the wrong side. James is miffed with whoever went missing in action by giving Vardy the freedom of the six-yard box.

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07:41 PM

25 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Leicester free-kick on the left, 35 yards out. Thomas hits the first defender who knocks it out to the right. Albrighton wins it and sends a deep cross beyond the far post, Soyuncu cushions it, turns and wins a corner.

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07:39 PM

23 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Werner puts the ball in the back of the net with a thumping finish but as has been the case more than a couple of times this season, he did not time his run properly or bend it and was a foot or so offside when he came out of the blocks through the inside-left channel.

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07:38 PM

22 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Perez drops back towards halfway, facing his own goal, takes Castagne's pass and hits it on the turn up the right wing but it runs out of play before Albrighton can get it.

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07:36 PM

20 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Werner is still protesting and understandably so. Tielemans booted him on the back of his ankle.

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07:35 PM

19 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Mike Dean penalises Werner for being kicked in the achilles. Weird. Looked like a penalty to me but VAR upholds Dean's decision,

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07:34 PM

17 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Soyuncu needs longer studs. We've had biblical storms in west London all day. Part of his problem this time was that he trod on the back of Pulisic's boot. Free-kick five yards into the Leicester half.

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07:32 PM

15 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Pulisic skates in from the right, delays the cross and takes on Thomas instead. The lefft-back slips but Soyuncu comes over to make the tackle and Werner points both hands at his feet to show Pulisic where it should have been played.

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07:30 PM

12 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Fofana robs Werner in midfield and strides forward before sending Albrighton down the right with an angled pass. Werner diligently hares back to tackle the wing-back. A minute earlier Tielemans had hung up a cross from the right towards the penalty spot but Thiago Silva was there to hold off Vardy and head away.

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07:27 PM

10 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Leicester are not living with the pace of Chelsea's passing on this slick surface so far.

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07:26 PM

8 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Werner is looking very 'at it' tonight, sprinting into the press, hanging on Soyuncu's shoulder. Kante is sent through the inside-right after a give and go with Pulisic, advances and thunders a shot at a comfortable height that Schmeichel dives to his right to beat away. Chelsea recycle it back to the right and Pulisic slices a 20-yard effort over the bar.

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07:23 PM

6 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Mount's cross from the list is a foot too far from Azpilicueta then, from the goalkick, James blazes a shot wide.

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07:22 PM

4 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Chilwell flashes a left-foot shot from an angle of about 60 degrees past the far post. Pulisic was sliding in but couldn't reach it to turn it in with the sole of his boots as he lunged. Excellent set-up by the two Germany internationals, Rudiger Beckenbauering his way out of the box and then Werner accelerating through the middle before slipping it with a reverse pass to Chilwell.

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07:19 PM

2 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

Leicester free-kick on the right, 30 yards from goal, after Chilwell's foul on Albrighton. Tielemans takes and whips it into the box, it goes all the way over and Soyuncu retrieves it and hangs up a cross from the left that Chelsea deal with again, then clear their lines when the ball is popped back into the box and skips out of play for a goalkick.

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07:17 PM

1 min Chelsea 0 Leicester 0

The players take a knee, largely applauded by a noisy and relieved crowd. Leicester are attacking the Shed, left to right.

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07:15 PM

The teams are out

Chelsea in their 2020-21 kit rather than the one they wore at Wembley. Leicester in Cup-winning claret and white.

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07:10 PM

And Brendan Rodgers

It was brilliant to pick up a trophy on Saturday but you have to park that success.

We had a small celebration on Saturday but the focus is now on this game.

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07:09 PM

Thomas Tuchel speaks

I would take the same performance [as Saturday].

We believe it was enough to win the game. We need to improve our composure and decision-making the last third – this is not a completely new subject – but this is a process for us.

We are a young team, built to grow, and today is another important match.

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07:03 PM

Mason Mount

Has just received his Chelsea player of the season award:

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06:54 PM

What's at stake: the permutations

With Liverpool three points behind Leicester and one behind Chelsea and playing Burnley away tomorrow followed by Palace at home on Sunday, here's what tonight's result means:

• A Leicester victory guarantees a place in the Champions League.

• A Chelsea victory puts them one point above Leicester and they will guarantee a Champions League place by beating Aston Villa at the weekend.

• If it’s a draw They go again on Sunday.

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06:44 PM

More important matters

Were on the mind on Saturday, but what did everyone make of Chelsea's new kit? I love Odyssey and Oracle as much as the next modman but while loving the soundtrack, not so sure about the zigzags and the prominence of the yellow:

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06:37 PM

Formations

Looks like Leicester will match Chelsea up with a 3-4-2-1 by replacing Iheanacho with Maddison. One presumes, too, that James will carry on at right centre-back with Azpilicueta at right wing-back to cope with Vardy's acceleration.

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06:33 PM

Your teams in black and white

Chelsea Mendy; James, Thiago, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho, Chilwell; Pulisic, Mount; Werner.
Substitutes Kepa, Alonso, Zouma, Emerson, Kovacic, Ziyech, Abraham, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi.

Leicester Schmeichel; Castagne, Fofana, Soyuncu; Albrighton, Tielemans, Ndidi, Thomas; Perez, Maddison; Vardy.
Substitutes Ward, Morgan, Amartey, Pereira, Fuchs, Choudhury, Mendy, Praet, Iheanacho.

Referee Mike Dean (Wirral).

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06:18 PM

Leicester XI

Two changes for Foxes, Maddison and Albrighton start.

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06:16 PM

Chelsea team news

Mendy, Chilwell and Pulisic come in.

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05:49 PM

The psychological challenge awaiting Leicester - and how they can overcome it

By Andy Lane, Sports psychologist at the Centre for Health and Human Performance and the University of Wolverhampton

Brendan Rodgers faces a fascinating quandary as he prepares his FA Cup Champions for a rematch against Chelsea just 73 hours after claiming silverware.

The key for the Leicester manager will be to keep the arousal, motivational and concentration levels high in his squad. There is the potential for a natural psychological let down after such an emotionally charged victory, but they cannot afford to let that happen.

Rodgers must let his squad celebrate their win, but not in an over the top manner. While acknowledging the monumental achievement, Rodgers must ‘park the success’ until a later day. Putting an exact date in the diary when the players can really cut loose, such as a bus parade with the fans through the city - Covid permitting - will allow the players to focus on the immediate job at hand, while knowing they can still enjoy themselves later.

Rodgers also must put as much importance on the League game as he did with the Cup final. He will know a victory will guarantee them Champions League football next season, a fantastic carrot to dangle in front of his players and the perfect way to incentivise achievement. He must impress on them a ‘two Cup finals mentality’. He can use the media to hype up the occasion by singing their praises and being as positive as possible.

He must also tailor their preparation and pick his strongest squad available, despite the fact he has a smaller group than Thomas Tuchel to choose from. At this time of the season, footballers will cut back on the physical training and focus more on recovery. Like boxers who enter the final week of training camp before a title fight, the Leicester players will be focussing solely on physical recovery and tactical issues. Rodgers will have to work very closely with his sports science team to optimise this.

But responsibility lies with individual players too. They must focus on their roles to mentally prepare for the match at Stamford Bridge. Using imagery and self-talk are the most effective way of doing this, visualising themselves playing well and hearing themselves communicate clearly. This takes no physical exertion, but will keep their arousal levels high.

Concentrating on individual battles, particularly ones they won against Chelsea on Saturday, will help them be laser-focused. For example, Caglar Soyuncu will know he got the better of Timo Werner at Wembley, so remembering a big tackle he made, or an occasion where he nullified the Germans pace by reading his movement and anticipating, will help him enter the match with more confidence.

Knowing they are up against the same team will take some delicate preparation as well. They must realise that the previous result has no bearing on what happens on Tuesday. They are a separate 90 minutes. Chelsea will be highly motivated, but it is not preordained they will get revenge. The Foxes must focus on the here and now, not be distracted by the past.

He was speaking to Marcus Parekh.

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05:21 PM

Preview: Rodgers concedes Chelsea have the edge

By John Percy

Brendan Rodgers has claimed that Chelsea have been given the advantage over his FA Cup winners in Tuesday's top-four shootout.

Rodgers is frustrated with the timing of the potentially pivotal encounter with Thomas Tuchel as he bids to follow Saturday's Wembley triumph by securing Leicester a place in next season's Champions League.

After guiding the east Midlands club to their first trophy since the historic Premier League title win in 2016 he is convinced it will “activate” his squad into lifting more silverware.

Leicester face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night in a swift turnaround, in what will be their 52nd game of the season, and he has conceded that Tuchel may have the edge.

“There’s no question the game being on the Tuesday will benefit those squads who have a lot of the top-class players,” he said.

“They can rotate and make the changes to make that physical difference, Chelsea have one of the best squads in Europe so if they want to be able to change it won’t make a massive difference to the quality.

“It would have been nice somewhere along the line after 52 games, especially playing next Sunday, if we could have played on the Wednesday and especially after the game on the Saturday.

“The extra day would have helped us but it doesn’t mean we’ll be any less prepared or ready.

“We haven’t talked about it all year and I’m not going to moan too much about it now but it certainly would have helped us.”

Rodgers has insisted Leicester’s FA Cup win will push them on towards delivering a new era of success.

Leicester have already beaten Chelsea twice this season already and Rodgers believes the momentum from Saturday can inspire them towards more magic moments.

"Once you've become a winner that activates something within you that wants you to have more of that,” he said.

“We've got young players that want that feeling and we've got senior players who want to continue with that.

"That's important and it's something we reiterated before the final. Our mental strategy around the game was that we're not here as tourists and we're there to win.

"There was a feeling that it was great for Leicester to be in the final and it was fantastic and amazing, but we were there to win.

"I've got a group of players that want to win as well and are prepared to do what it takes to win. It's good from that perspective that we have this hunger to push on and continue."

Leicester will virtually guarantee a place in next season’s Champions League by beating Thomas Tuchel for the second time in four days.

Meanwhile, Rodgers has revealed how chairman Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha slept with the FA Cup on Saturday night.

The son of late owner Vichai flew into England from Thailand earlier this month and was in attendance at Wembley for the first ever FA Cup win in Leicester’s history.

"Khun woke up with it, he still has it, I’m not sure when it’s returning but it will return at some stage,” said Rodgers.

"To give him joy after so much sadness, with the loss of his father, was really special. Everything that the club has achieved is down to them.

“They’re really decent people, as a family, they care, and they get that back because the players care so much about them.”

Jonny Evans, the defender, will be absent at Stamford Bridge after his early withdrawal from the final with a recurrence of his heel injury.

Join us for the team news at 7.15pm.