Chelsea analysis: Alvaro Morata is no Fernando Torres as N'Golo Kante haunts Leicester City

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Simon Johnson9 September 2017

N'Golo Kante returned to the King Power Stadium to haunt Leicester City as Chelsea won 2-1 on Saturday.

It was a third win on the trot for the Premier League champions and Kante rounded off a typically accomplished display with a goal from 25 yards to double Chelsea's lead after Alvaro Morata's opener.

Jamie Vardy pulled one back for the hosts from the penalty spot, after Thibaut Courtois's mistake, but Antonio Conte's team held on for the three points.

Simon Johnson was at the King Power Stadium to assess the key talking points...

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Alvaro Morata is head and shoulders above Fernando Torres

There were some question marks over how Chelsea's new club-record signing would adapt to life at Chelsea, but he already looks a cut above his countryman.

Torres, who joined from Liverpool for £50m in 2011, was Chelsea's most expensive buy until Morata came along for an initial £58m this summer and everyone remembers how the former worked out.

There were more lows than highs, even though Torres was part of the squad that won the Champions League in 2012. He never looked comfortable at Stamford Bridge, whereas Morata is making an instant impact.

There is still a lot he can improve on, yet there is no doubt that the Blues have a real asset in the air. Once again he scored with a header, his third in four League games, all of which have come from crosses on the right hand side.

Morata was under pressure when he arrived to fill the void left by rebel Diego Costa, but he is more than up to the task so far.

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Tiemoue Bakayoko will be a major asset once fully match fit

Another of Chelsea's acquisitions also had an afternoon to be happy with, especially as there is so much more to come.

Bakayoko was starting just his second game since joining from Monaco for £40m and at times his rustiness showed.

The Leicester counterparts didn't give the France international as much time on the ball as he wanted and he lost possession on occasion.

But there were plenty of positives too, like the early surging run from midfield that led to an early shot for Morata.

There seemed to be a good understanding with fellow Frenchman N'Golo Kante too so there is a lot of cause for optimism.

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Jamie Vardy shows why he deserves to remain in England squad

Vardy remains a nuisance for opponents in the penalty area, just ask Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois.

The Leicester striker may have passed the landmark of 30, yet he has lost none of his zip and speed.

Granted Courtois was slow to react to Azpilicueta's back pass and shouldn't have dived in as Vardy closed in.

Still, Vardy's alertness and quick reactions were impressive and helped get his side back in the game by first winning a penalty, then scoring it.

He had threatened to put Leicester in front following a typical Leicester counter attack in the first half when again his pace scared Chelsea defenders.

Vardy played only 20 minutes in the recent international break for England so is clearly a fringe player under Gareth Southgate at present. But playing like this, he is still a useful asset for the national team.

Leicester have even more reason to regret selling Kante now

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Leicester have not been the same side since selling Kante to Chelsea last year for £32m. He was always going to be a hard man to replace.

As Kante has shown in the last 12 months in the blue of Chelsea, there are few better at winning possession in midfield than him.

On his first return to the King Power Stadium 12 months ago, Kante was bizarrely booed by the home crowd. They appeared to have short memories given the massive part he played in their 2016 title win.

This time he was applauded warmly, that is until he fired the ball into the bottom corner from 25 yards out.

Leicester fans are used to seeing him make tackles galore, not scoring goals like this and it proved to be the winner.

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Eden Hazard's return just as satisfying as the three points

This was another test passed for Chelsea, particularly after the inconvenience of the international break.

Antonio Conte was his usual animated self at the final whistle and for good reason. Winning here is no easy task.

Still it was the sight of Hazard coming on with 12 minutes remaining that provided the Italian and those in the away end with real cause for optimism.

This was his first appearance of the season having been out with a fractured right ankle sustained while away with Belgium in June.

There are a lot of quality players at Stamford Bridge, but he provides the X Factor. He is still not 100 per cent, yet there was enough time for him to show some predictably silky touches and threatening dribbles.

Hazard's presence will make Chelsea a team to be really feared once again.