Chelsea played midfielders high and wide to stifle Leicester City

Chelsea’s midfield quartet kept the ball bottled up in the offensive third, maintaining possession for their strikers and eliminating Leicester’s outlet passing lanes.

Chelsea continued their development as a 3-4-3 squad against the defending champions. The midfield not only neutralized Leicester, but protected the still-weak back-line. Antonio Conte’s decision to keep John Terry on the bench is as much a credit to the midfield quartet as it was to Luiz, Cahill and Azpilicueta.

Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso gave Chelsea complementary options coming in from the flanks. Moses was the more likely of the two to drive in towards the centre of the pitch. He won two of four attempted take-ons, and made himself available running in towards the top of the box.

Moses’ one-two play with Nathaniel Chalobah was the fitting end to his afternoon. His pass combination and direct run showed how dangerous he can be when he breaks from the touchline to the box.

Alonso stayed more along the outside, offering a more effective crossing option. Alonso’s play showed his history as an overlapping left-back. He was more likely to drive towards the goal line to cut in a pass than to move towards shooting position.

Together, Chelsea’s wingbacks completed 19 of 23 passes in the offensive third and 62 of 76 passes overall.

Like they did against Hull, N’Golo Kante played forward of Nemanja Matic in the middle-third of the pitch. As Chelsea increasingly controlled the first half, Kante and Matic pressed forward from holding midfield to a more central-midfield position.

During the most dominant spells, Matic and Kante held at the top of Leicester’s box. They rebuffed any Leicester attempts to clear the ball or play it out, instead punching it right back in towards Chelsea’s forwards. Matic’s reach and Kante’s omnipresence kept the ball and the Foxes bottled up in their own zone.

The Blues’ high-pressing midfield could have been an appetizing opportunity for Jamie Vardy and the Foxes. Vardy would like nothing more than to receive the ball between Chelsea’s lines with only Gary Cahill and David Luiz between him and the goal.

Chelsea’s midfielders reduced Vardy – and, by extension, Thibaut Courtois – to little more than spectator for most of the match. The pressure, control and positioning of the quartet eliminated diagonal outlet passes or a quick ball over the top to Vardy.

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Leicester thrived last season by making a quick pass from the centre-backs to the touch-line, and then a rapid-fire sequence to send Vardy on his way. Alternatively, Vardy would be running at full-tilt behind the opposing defence when a long ball – possibly from his goalkeeper – would land at his feet.

Chelsea’s wing-backs foreclosed the former possibility. The overall pressure and the occasional backup from David Luiz eliminated the latter.

Chelsea are playing a new brand of football with the high press and strength on the wings. Marcos Alonso is not the left-back that Ashley Cole was, but his offensive contributions effectively deny the opposition the use of that side. Victor Moses does not have his counterpart’s defensive abilities, but he Cesar Azpilicueta backing him up on the right side of the three-man defence.

Next: Antonio Conte eyeing Walter Sabatini to overhaul Chelsea's transfer business

Chelsea’s execution of the 3-4-3 against Leicester showed what Antonio Conte meant when he said it was the best formation given the players he has. He is doing what every great manager must do: creating the perfect team from an imperfect roster.

All data from Stats Zone.