Chelsea cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory over defending champions Leicester City in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

READ: Costa inspires Chelsea to victory

Blues forward Pedro Rodriguez came into the Chelsea starting line-up to replace Willian, while Riyad Mahrez had to settle for a spot on the Foxes bench.

The Blues opened the scoring in the seventh minute when Diego Costa volleyed home from close range after some poor defending by the Foxes from the corner.

The Blues nearly doubled their advantage in the 28th minutes from a David Luiz free kick but his cracking effort crashed against the upright.

However, Antonio Conte’s side doubled their advantage in the 30th minute when Eden Hazard latched onto a long pass before rounding Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and slotting the ball home into an empty net.

The Foxes, meanwhile, had a first half to forget, as they struggled to create any clear cut chances at goal to trouble goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in the Chelsea  goal.

Claudio Ranieri’s said looked a much better team in the second half and their efforts going forward nearly paid off when Luiz’s clearance was guided against the post.

The visiting side opted to introduced Algerian duo, Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani in the 68th minute, while Chelsea decided to bring on starlet Nathan Chalobah.

Chelsea all but sealed the victory in the 83rd minute when Chalobah’s back-heel played in Victor Moses, who calmly slotted home from close range to extend their lead to 3-0.

However, the Blues held on to clinch a comfortable 3-0 victory over Leicester City to claim all three points at home to move up to fifth on the Premier League table.

Image: Premier League website