Marc Cucurella thunderbolt proves enough as Chelsea defeat lowly Leicester

Chelsea needed a long-range thunderbolt from Marc Cucurella to earn a far from convincing 1-0 win over the Premier League’s second-bottom side Leicester at Stamford Bridge.

Cucurella cracked in a fine strike in the 60th minute after advancing from left-back to break Leicester’s resistance, but this was a result far more valuable to Enzo Maresca than was the nature of a turgid, ponderous display, in which there was too little movement and an alarming absence of creativity.

It moved Chelsea above Manchester City back into the top four, but there will be sterner tests in what remains of the race for the Champions League spots than the one provided by Ruud van Nistelrooy’s relegation-bound side.

Deadlock broken.