Coping Without Costa  (Sky Sports)

We examine how Chelsea got back to winning ways at Leicester without top scorer Diego Costa...

Marcos Alonso may have seemed an unlikely match-winner in the absence of Diego Costa, but the left-back’s double at Leicester helped Chelsea pull off a morale-boosting 3-0 victory which gets them back on track and sends out an important message about the Premier League leaders’ resilience.

After seeing their hopes of breaking the Premier League record for consecutive wins ended with defeat at rivals Tottenham earlier this month, and then Costa’s reported falling out with fitness staff and potential move to China dominating headlines in the build-up to this fixture, Chelsea’s players were facing a test of attitude and determination on Saturday night.

Convincing wins for title-chasing Tottenham and Arsenal earlier in the day only intensified the pressure.

But there was no hint of those distractions on show from the visitors at the King Power Stadium as they impressively despatched last season’s Premier League winners Leicester. Gary Cahill described the performance as “professional”, while manager Antonio Conte praised the team’s spirit.

Chelsea beat Bournemouth 3-0 on Boxing Day when they were last without Costa - who was suspended on that occasion - and once again Conte turned to a three-pronged forward line of Eden Hazard, Pedro and Willian. He was rewarded with a similarly destructive attacking performance.

Without Costa, Chelsea unquestionably lack a target man in their attack but by leaving out-of-favour £33m summer signing Michy Batshuyai on the bench, who could fulfil a similar role, Conte demonstrated he was content to find another way; swapping a focal point for a fluid approach.

The Hazard-Pedro-Willian trio inter-changed roles and linked up across the pitch, causing Leicester centre-backs Robert Huth and Wes Morgan persistent problems regarding who to mark, who to grant space and how to position themselves.

But it was from a traditional central attacking role where Hazard latched onto a loose ball in the box and squared for Alonso to fire in his first Premier League away goal since 2012.

When the Spaniard struck a deflected shot into the bottom corner shortly after the interval the Foxes were left with a mountain to climb and that became an impossible task when Pedro produced a supreme piece of skill before heading in Willian’s deflected cross.

Hazard’s trickery and creativity was as innovative as ever, with the Belgian creating three openings for his team-mates, while Willian whipped in a game-high seven crosses and Pedro’s industry saw him out-run his colleagues with 78 sprints in the match.

Leading from the front, the trio - along with the goals of Alonso - provided the perfect tonic to Chelsea’s troubles.

How long Chelsea will have to play without Costa remains unclear. After the match Conte was keen to downplay any suggestion of conflict between him and his striker, insisting the Spaniard’s absence was purely down to a back problem.

But whether the striker returns for their next match with Hull or becomes a long-term absentee, Chelsea delivered a statement in Leicester on Saturday night: the wheels aren’t about to come off their title challenge. And they have the strength in depth to deal with missing key men.