The furious Leicester supporters began asking the club to sell Ben Chilwell after the left back was portrayed laughing and joking with Ross Barkley in the wake of their elimination of the FA Cup at the hands of Chelsea.
The Foxes started the quarter-finals on the better side and Frank Lampard’s frustrations were heard on the sideline at King Power Stadium before the mid-game changes began, with Cesar Azpilicueta, Mateo Kovacic and Barkley all presented.
The substitutions had the desired effect for Lampard as his Chelsea team grew in confidence after the break and Barkley swept Willian’s cross home to give visitors the advantage just past the hour.
Caglar Soyuncu had the chance to equalize in the dying moments of the clash, but the central defender’s header hit Azpilicueta and sailed past the bar.
Much of the talk ahead of Sunday’s game surrounded Chilwell’s future, who was reportedly identified as Chelsea’s main target this summer after completing negotiations for Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner.
And Chilwell assured that he would be subject to further speculation when he was seen sharing a joke with Chelsea matchwinner, Barkley, immediately after the final whistle.
The sight of Chilwell laughing a few seconds after the loss infuriated many Leicester fans and some even requested that the club cash in on the full back for his behavior.
It is understood that an offer of £ 75 million would be sufficient for Chelsea to land on England.
Here’s how some Leicester supporters reacted to Chilwell’s reaction after the game (ATTENTION: STRONG LANGUAGE) …
Barkley said Lampard was less than impressed with Chelsea’s display before the break and made it clear that they needed to be more “vocal” during his half-time talks.
“He said it’s not good enough for Chelsea’s badge to perform that way in the first half,” said the England midfielder.
‘We needed to be more vocal.
“Then I could have done better with the last step in the second half, me and the others.”
On his winning goal, Barkley added: ‘We work a lot on this in training.
‘Encourage midfielders to enter the box and the rewards are there if you enter the box as we saw today.
“And the other midfielders achieve goals so, yes, he gives us little advice here and there.”
Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers insisted before the game that he had no worries about Chilwell’s mood despite constant rumors about his future.
“I don’t care at all,” said Rodgers ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final clash.
‘Speculation and gossip are something you have to live with in this area.
“He has good experiences now, Ben, and he can do it. It’s part of the game and we know it.
‘Ben came back and he was brilliant. He is back and looks cool.
‘In the block he really pressed the reset button again. He was in shape and his running ability was great.
‘His defense has been good. You saw his goal that scored against Watford – it was a brilliant shot. “
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