Enzo Maresca enjoyed a happy return to the King Power Stadium, as goals from Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernández secured a 2-1 win for Chelsea over Leicester City.
The visitors dominated the opening stages of the game and took the lead after 15 minutes courtesy of a brilliant two-touch finish from Jackson to bag his seventh Premier League goal of the season.
Leicester grew into the match and ended the first half with a flurry of chances, but they could not find the coveted equalising goal as they went into the break behind.
Chelsea regained control of the match in the second half, and Fernández doubled their lead after heading home from close range with a quarter of an hour remaining.
The Blues were given a slight scare when Jordan Ayew dispatched a penalty for the Foxes in second-half stoppage time, but it came too late for the hosts as Chelsea hung on to secure all three points.
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Story of the Match
Steve Cooper made four changes to the Leicester side that lost 3-0 to Manchester United before the international break, with Caleb Okoli, Kasey McAteer, Bilal El Khannouss and Jamie Vardy all coming into the side in place of Jannik Vestergaard, Abdul Fatawu, Facundo Buonanotte and Ayew.
The Foxes had gone three Premier League matches without a win and had not beaten Chelsea in any of their previous six encounters, but a win for Leicester would take them six points clear of the bottom three.
As for Chelsea, Enzo Maresca made three changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Arsenal in their previous match, with Benoît Badiashile, Fernández and João Félix replacing Malo Gusto, Roméo Lavia and Pedro Neto in the starting lineup.
Club captain Reece James reaggravated a hamstring issue during the week and is set for another spell on the sidelines, but on a brighter note for the Blues, they were able to welcome Jadon Sancho back to the match day squad as the winger was named amongst the substitutes.
The match began with the hosts having to absorb an early spell of Chelsea pressure, and they were forced into an early substitution as Harry Winks became the latest addition to Leicester's growing injury list, making way for Oliver Skipp after just 10 minutes.
Things soon went from bad to worse for the Foxes as Chelsea took the lead just minutes later. After Wout Faes was dispossessed on the edge of his own penalty area, Jackson capitalised with a brilliant piece of skill as he took a neat touch to tee up a side-footed effort which found the bottom corner, giving his side a deserved lead.
Chelsea continued to pile the pressure on the Leicester defence, and they thought they had doubled their lead on the half-hour mark after Noni Madueke slotted home a low cross from Marc Cucurella, but the hosts were saved by the linesman's flag as the Spaniard was judged to have been offside.
Leicester had been camped in their own half for the majority of the first half, but the game saw a shift in momentum on the stroke of half-time as Cooper's side grew into the match.
The Foxes finally showed some signs of life in the final third as McAteer went close with a curling effort from outside the penalty area, before Wilfred Ndidi dragged an effort wide from close range just minutes later.
Chelsea went into the half-time break with a 1-0 lead and had dominated, but the home fans had certainly been given reason to be optimistic heading into the second half despite their team being behind.
Second Half
Like the first half, Chelsea began the second half in the ascendency, and they should have doubled their lead after a devastating counterattack.
The ball fell to Jackson who had his effort saved by Mads Hermansen, but the keeper could only parry the ball into the path of Cole Palmer. It looked to be a certain goal, but Palmer had his effort blocked on the line by his own teammate Madueke, who was trying to jump out of the way.
Luckily for the pair, it did not cost the team as Chelsea scored for a second time in the 75th minute.
Jackson got his head on the end of a Cucurella cross and Hermansen did well to deny the striker from scoring his second of the afternoon, but the Leicester keeper could only parry the ball into the path of Fernández who headed into an empty net to the relief of the travelling fans.
Leicester needed a quick response, and they felt they should have had a penalty when Stephy Mavididi looked to have been fouled in the penalty area by former Leicester defender Wesley Fofana, but referee Andy Madley waived his claims away, much to the displeasure of the home faithful.
The home side were eventually awarded a penalty when Bobby De Cordova-Reid was brought down by Lavia, a penalty which was duly dispatched by Ayew.
Unfortunately for the home side, it came too late as Chelsea saw out the remainder of the game and sealed all three points, closing the gap on Manchester City in second place to one point, with the reigning champions set to play Tottenham on Saturday evening.
As for Leicester, they missed the chance to extend their lead over the bottom three and instead dropped to 16th in the table, sitting just three points above the relegation zone.
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Player of the Match - Enzo Fernández
Fernández was awarded a start by Maresca against Leicester, and he certainly made a statement with a fantastic performance.
The Argentine international wore the captain's armband and led by example as he controlled the game in the middle of the pitch.
He assisted Jackson's first-half goal, and he got his rewards for his fine performance with his first goal for the club in the final quarter of an hour to clinch the win for Chelsea.
