Premier League: Leicester 2-0 Chelsea - reaction as Foxes go top

Leicester midfielder James Maddison, speaking to BBC Sport: "I feel good, I feel sharp. I feel good in front of goal which is always a good sign as an attacking player.

"Everyone talks about the title, every week it is said a different team will win it. We will just go about our business and let you talk about that.

"The gaffer has been here two years, he has really stamped his authority on the group. We are playing well consistently. We have learned our lesson from last year by showing more consistency.

"Tactically we controlled Chelsea without the ball at times as well and it."

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard, speaking to BBC Sport: "Very disappointing [to concede early]. Sometimes when you are in the from you are in it can happen - it's not an excuse. More disappointed by the second goal. Leicester are a good team in form, we are not in good form. We could do better, I'll not dress it up any other way.

"We were in a really good place in December, second in the league and two points from the top. Maybe complacency set it. There's only one way out of it which is hard work. Today Leicester were in better form than us.

"It is clearly concerning. It is a period we are not happy with, other clubs have been in that period. All we can think about is getting through the period, working hard. The important thing is the players bounce back. This is the cut-throat nature of what it is.

"The players have to keep their heads up but also keep their eyes open and review the game and see there was an energy in the Leicester team we didn't have.

"You cannot be sluggish and slow because it won't work against a team like Leicester that are firing.

"Might be a big ask to answer realistic expectations. Last year was probably top six or top eight. The changes that have happened means we have maybe lost momentum, we are striving to find the pressing speed we had last year. The expectations have to be what are we going to do next week, next game, next training session."

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard speaking to Sky Sports: "Beaten by the better team. They were sharper than us, ran more than us and they looked in form - we looked out of form. Disappointing goal form a set piece and the second goal is just not good enough.

"There were quite a lot of moments where our sharpness wasn't there, those are moments you have to dig in and the basics are important like running and sprinting and we didn't do that.

"The most disappointing thing is to come here and lose the game but the basics off the ball are important. The game on the ball was a bit slow at times but it was okay, we created a few opportunities and I thought it was a penalty but I'm not going to lean on those things. We weren't good enough.

"We won against Fulham without playing brilliant, from that we come and lose a game so it's a small step backwards.

"I am worried about the slump - from the form we were in to get so quickly into the form we're now in and we've had some wins but five losses in eight isn't where we want to be. It takes character to get out of that - I'm not against the lads in the dressing room because they're disappointed. It's a young team and it's a big lesson that if you come off it and think you're fine then you've got to get yourself out of the hole."

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers, speaking to BBC Sport: "We played against a Chelsea team that is very talented and has outstanding players but we were very good and ran our socks off without the ball, which you have to do in these games.

"I was really pleased with how we closed the game. I felt in the second half our defensive block was much than in the first but we still carried a threat."

On Wesley Forfana:"He has everything. I like my players to defend forward and be aggressive and he is all of that. Dominant in the air and has composure on the ball."

Title challenge? "It is still too early. But it shows in the first part of the season consistency has been good and performance levels have been very high.

"This gives the belief to the players. It keeps the momentum going and keeps the concentration. In order to stay there at the top you need desire and hunger and I feel we have seen that from the team."

"They were sharper than us and ran more than us," says Chelsea manager Frank Lampard.

"The bare minimum is to run and sprint and cover ground and too many of our players didn't do it."

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers speaking to Sky Sports: "Very good performance, they're [Chelsea] a talented team with individual quality but as a team we were excellent. Great attacking threat in the first period, Harvey Barnes was sensational, really exciting. We were very good.

"Last 15 or 20 minutes of the first half our shape allowed them to play through the bodies so they started to get some combinations on the edge of the box. We changed our defensive shape in the second half and that nullified a lot of their threat. We looked very dangerous in the game. Two very good goals. We really deserved it.

"My satisfaction is seeing the relationship from training into the game and the players have won a lot of games against the big teams this season. You see the maturity in the performance as well - that's a pleasing aspect. Tonight was a good professional performance and we had some really good moments of football."

More from James Maddison on scoring more goals: "I've been working on my game, improving. The game we played against Sheffield United and I watched the game back and Jamie Carragher said I need to get my numbers up if I want to be talked about in regards to the England squad or progression and I sat down with the manager and the analyst and looked where we can get more goals and playing a bit deeper and getting beyond the last line, it's not easy but that's what I did today. I drifted on to the back-line. I want to keep improving my goals. I want people talking about me so I want to add that more to my game."

On being title contenders: "You can get sidetracked, we are top at the minute because we don't think like that. The most important game is the next game, as cliche as it is that's how we have to work because we have that mentality. We're at the top of the league because we work hard we're not there by fluke. We'll do our business in the background, let them talk about Liverpool, Man United and Spurs, we'll just keep doing what we're doing."

Chelsea have got three home games on the bounce now. A crucial run of fixtures in which you would expect them to win them all. Can they?

Sunday, 24 January - Luton Town (FA Cup fourth round)

Wednesday, 27 January - Wolves

Saturday, 30 January - Burnley

Leicester's James Maddison speaking to Sky Sports: "Sounds nice to say we're top of the league - probably for about 24 hours but it's a good one psychologically because we've worked really hard.It's a great achievement for us and I don't think you'll see a better team performance from us this season. It had a bit of everything, bit of tactical nous, I thought we were brilliant today. Credit to the manager as well - we switched to a 4-4-2 out of possession at half-time and just little things like that helped and we deserved the three points.

"You don't play for Brendan Rodgers if you don't do dirty work - he always reiterates that it is a running game and you can't have passengers or carry anyone in this league. If we want to stay up there for the rest of the season there might be teams that can spend more money than us but that team spirit will keep building to try and keep us up there."

Southampton have booked their place in the FA Cup fourth round with victory over Shrewsbury Town tonight.

Goals from Daniel N'Lundulu and James Ward-Prowse.

Read the report here.

Leicester have kept consecutive Premier League clean sheets for the first time since a run of four from October to November 2019.

"You don't play for Brendan Rodgers if you don't do the dirty work."

James Maddison is refreshingly honest in all his interviews. He's giving great insight into how Leicester prepared for today's game.

Another good performance from Wesley Fofana tonight. Hard to believe he's still only 20.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

"Sounds nice doesn't it?" says James Maddison when he's asked about being top of the Premier League table.

Leicester have had a fantastic season - it shows how good their squad is. At the start of the season they had injuries, James Maddison was out and some others picked up little injuries. But you never heard Brendan Rodgers moaning about it - they just got on with it, they picked up their points, they carried on going and they got the results.

Now they've got players back fit and they're continuing to get results and quietly going about their business and getting the job done has really worked for them.

This is Chelsea's 18th season under Roman Abramovich's ownership. The 2020/21 season is the second worst in the Premier League of these 18 (29 points after 19 matches).

Only in 2015/16, Chelsea had fewer points at this stage of the season (20) and in which they parted company with Jose Mourinho after 16 PL matches.

(Sorry).

Sam G: All this chat about Lampard losing the dressing room blah blah. Every single signing has put it down to Lampard for joining in the first place! So bored of the short termist outlook from fans and pundits alike!

Douglas McFarlane: It's OK to call Lampard out but who do you replace him with? How many managers would currently refuse moving to the UK due to the pandemic? So who's out there in the UK that can take this forward. The list is short.

James Maddison has the biggest grin on his face as he gives a fist pump to all his team-mates as they walk off the pitch.

He has one for former Leicester man Ben Chilwell too.

Leicester go top of the table!