Chelsea's warning to Juventus, United

LONDON • Chelsea swept to a 3-0 win at Leicester yesterday, as N'Golo Kante's rocket helped the English Premier League leaders provisionally move six points clear at the top.

Antonio Rudiger opened the scoring and Kante's long-range blast put Chelsea in control, before Christian Pulisic came off the bench to score in the second half.

Thomas Tuchel's side are unbeaten in their last nine games in all competitions, after erasing the frustrating memories of the 1-1 draw against Burnley before the international break.

Chelsea's ruthless display provided the perfect riposte to Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino's recent claim that the European champions are a "defensive" team.

It was also the ideal preparation for a big week that features a crucial Champions League home tie against Juventus on Tuesday - the Blues require just a point to enter the knockout stage - before Manchester United visit next Sunday.

With Romelu Lukaku hoping to return shortly after an ankle injury and fellow striker Timo Werner back among the substitutes after his hamstring problem, Tuchel's men are perfectly positioned to cement their place at the top.

The only concern was an injury that forced off midfielder Jorginho in the closing stages, but the Blues have the strength in depth to cope.

The visitors made quick work of dispatching a lacklustre Leicester, who had managed only one clean-sheet in their past 17 league games.

Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers switched to a three-man central defence in a bid to shore up his leaky rearguard, but Chelsea found holes rather easily, condemning their hosts to a fifth top-flight loss of the season.

Ben Chilwell has been among the goals for both club and England lately and, despite being jeered with his every touch at the King Power Stadium, he was a constant thorn in his former team's side.

After driving his shot against the crossbar early on, the defender helped silence the crowd in the 14th minute.

Leicester 0 Chelsea 3

Watford 4 Man United 1

Wolves 1 West Ham 0

Villa 2 Brighton 0

Burnley 3 Palace 3

Newcastle 3 Brentford 3

Norwich 2 Southampton 1

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From Chilwell's corner, Rudiger got between two Leicester defenders to glance a header into the far corner.

It was a well-timed reminder of the defender's quality as Chelsea try to persuade him to sign an extension to a deal that ends next summer.

Chelsea struck again in the 28th minute, with Kante drilling a fine finish past Kasper Schmeichel from the edge of the area.

Like Rudiger, it was Kante's first goal since scoring in the win at Tottenham in September.

Pulisic replaced Mason Mount and he went on to net his first club goal since the opening weekend in the 71st minute.

Tuchel hailed the ruthlessness shown by his players before expressing his hope that Rudiger will extend his deal.

"We played a good away game, excellent result, a good mixture... We need to be strong from first to last minute, it was a deserved win," he said. "Everybody wants him to stay. Sometimes, there is a delay in these things but I know he knows he plays for a fantastic club, so we need a bit of patience.

"We want to push over and over again, I am happy with the way we played and the result."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE