Chelsea had to dig deep to beat Leicester City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

Raheem Sterling scored a second-half brace to put Chelsea ahead, but Harvey Barnes scored one shortly after Sterling’s second goal.

The Blues had to defend for the rest of the game to secure the victory, which became very difficult after Conor Gallagher’s first-half red card.

Sterling however praised Edouard Mendy for his saves and also Kai Havertz for working hard upfront.

“It was a massive three points and one that we needed, especially off the back of last weekend [defeat to Leeds],” Sterling said after the match.

“Even going down to 10 men, the boys showed a lot of passion and commitment to get the job done and it was a good win for us. It was a big team performance and everyone played their part.

“It’s always difficult when you go down to 10 men but it just showed how hard the boys worked for victory.

“The defenders were excellent in stopping Leicester and that ran right through the team, everybody worked hard for one another and you could see how much it meant to all the boys.

“It’s teams that win games and everyone pulled their weight today. Edou made some big saves and Kai led from the front, working his socks off to defend high up the pitch.”