Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says finishing third in the Premier League should be seen as a “miracle” given N’Golo Kante’s injury struggles.
The Blues’ 1-1 draw with Leicester puts them three points clear of Tottenham, in fourth, with a game to go.
Chelsea have a superior goal difference of 18 over Spurs.
Kante has missed more than half the season with various injuries and Tuchel said: “He is the guy who makes the difference.”
The German added: “I think he is our key, key, key player; but key, key, key players need to be on the pitch.
“He plays only 40% of the games. So it’s maybe a miracle that we arrived in third place.
“Because he is our Mo Salah, he is our [Virgil] Van Dijk, he is our [Kevin] De Bruyne, he is simply that player. He is our Neymar, he is our Kylian Mbappe.”
Chelsea, beaten in the FA Cup final by Liverpool at the weekend, fell behind early on at Stamford Bridge when James Maddison curled a fine effort beyond goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
However, Marcos Alonso equalised towards the end of the first half when he was picked out superbly by Reece James and volleyed in.
Chelsea dominated the second half and had numerous chances to take all three points.
Hakim Ziyech went close with a free kick while Romelu Lukaku – who had been largely quiet – headed wide.
But Christian Pulisic failed to convert the best chance for a winner when he sliced wide from eight yards with the goal at his mercy.
The result means Chelsea stay third, three points ahead of Tottenham, but with a vastly superior goal difference.
Tuchel’s side finish the season at home to relegated Watford on Sunday (16:00 BST) while Leicester, who are ninth, will look cement a top-10 finish when they host Southampton at the same time.
Chelsea look to the future as season draws to a close
Any jeopardy for Chelsea in this game disappeared on Monday, when their place in the top four was confirmed by Arsenal’s defeat at Newcastle.
But with back-to-back home fixtures to finish the campaign, the Blues had a chance to end on a high before switching focus to the future – and the pressing issue of getting the club’s ownership sorted.
Initially, Chelsea were sluggish, a possible hangover from their FA Cup loss, but they improved as the game wore on and were unfortunate not to take all three points.
That they didn’t win was down to their inability to finish chances, a problem that has plagued them this season.
Maddison caps a fine season to boost England hopes
Maddison, named Leicester’s player of the season earlier this week, is enjoying his best Premier League goal return in a season, taking his tally to 11 with his striker at Stamford Bridge.
The midfielder had a spell out of the team in the early months of the campaign when he admitted he was struggling for confidence but has not looked back since returning.
In total, he has scored 17 goals in all competitions, chipping in with 11 assists, which surely will not have gone unnoticed by England boss Gareth Southgate as he plans his squad for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
Player of the match
JamesReece James
Chelsea
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Squad number24Player nameJames
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Squad number7Player nameKanté
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Squad number6Player nameThiago Silva
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Squad number3Player nameAlonso
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Squad number29Player nameHavertz
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Squad number16Player nameMendy
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Squad number14Player nameChalobah
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Squad number22Player nameZiyech
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Squad number12Player nameLoftus-Cheek
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Squad number2Player nameRüdiger
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Squad number5Player nameJorginho
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Squad number10Player namePulisic
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Squad number28Player nameAzpilicueta
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Squad number9Player nameLukaku
Leicester City
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Squad number22Player nameDewsbury-Hall
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Squad number3Player nameFofana
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Squad number10Player nameMaddison
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Squad number1Player nameSchmeichel
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Squad number6Player nameEvans
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Squad number27Player nameCastagne
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Squad number18Player nameAmartey
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Squad number33Player nameThomas
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Squad number24Player nameMendy
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Squad number7Player nameBarnes
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Squad number14Player nameIheanacho
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Squad number17Player nameAyoze Pérez
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Squad number9Player nameVardy
Line-ups
Chelsea
Formation 3-4-2-1
- 16Mendy
- 14Chalobah
- 6Thiago Silva
- 2RüdigerBooked at 66mins
- 24James
- 5JorginhoBooked at 85mins
- 7KantéBooked at 47minsSubstituted forLoftus-Cheekat 72′minutes
- 3Alonso
- 22Ziyech
- 10PulisicSubstituted forAzpilicuetaat 72′minutes
- 9LukakuBooked at 59minsSubstituted forHavertzat 78′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Arrizabalaga
- 12Loftus-Cheek
- 17Saúl
- 18Barkley
- 19Mount
- 23Kenedy
- 28Azpilicueta
- 29Havertz
- 31Sarr
Leicester
Formation 3-1-4-2
- 1Schmeichel
- 3Fofana
- 6EvansBooked at 64mins
- 18Amartey
- 24Mendy
- 27Castagne
- 10Maddison
- 22Dewsbury-Hall
- 33Thomas
- 9VardySubstituted forPérezat 78′minutes
- 14IheanachoSubstituted forBarnesat 63′minutes
Substitutes
- 4Söyüncü
- 7Barnes
- 11Albrighton
- 12Ward
- 17Pérez
- 20Choudhury
- 21Ricardo Pereira
- 29Daka
- 37Lookman
- Referee:
- Stuart Attwell
- Attendance:
- 31,478
Live Text
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Match ends, Chelsea 1, Leicester City 1.
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Second Half ends, Chelsea 1, Leicester City 1.
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Foul by Marcos Alonso (Chelsea).
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Ayoze Pérez (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Attempt blocked. Reece James (Chelsea) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
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Édouard Mendy (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Harvey Barnes (Leicester City).
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Offside, Leicester City. Ayoze Pérez tries a through ball, but Harvey Barnes is caught offside.
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Jorginho (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Foul by Jorginho (Chelsea).
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Wesley Fofana (Leicester City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Foul by Kai Havertz (Chelsea).
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Wesley Fofana (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Attempt blocked. Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Thiago Silva.
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Substitution, Chelsea. Kai Havertz replaces Romelu Lukaku.
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Substitution, Leicester City. Ayoze Pérez replaces Jamie Vardy.
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Foul by Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea).
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Wesley Fofana (Leicester City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Attempt saved. Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea) header from very close range is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Marcos Alonso with a cross.
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Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Luke Thomas.