Kovacic may not be the most prolific of scorers with his strike at the King Power Stadium just the sixth goal he has netted in 210 appearances for the Blues. However, there was no question about the quality of the Croatian’s strike with the outside of his right boot, or its importance in securing three crucial points in a hard-fought encounter against the Foxes.

Here are some of the other important goals in recent times scored by Chelsea players who have been asked to skipper the side, and have led from the front...

Jorginho  v AC Milan (a) – 11.10.22

Former vice-captain Jorginho was prolific from 12 yards during his time with the Blues with 27 of his successfully converted penalties coming when he captained the side. His coolness from the spot was ably demonstrated at the San Siro last October when he outwitted Ciprian Tatarusanu to put us ahead in a 2-0 win over AC Milan, which vaulted us to the top of our Champions League group.

Cesar Azpilicueta v Burnley (h) – 31.01.21

Our current club captain has bagged 17 goals in his decade at the Bridge with one of his most important coming in Thomas Tuchel’s second match as manager in January 2021. The Spaniard’s crisp right-footed effort broke the deadlock in a tight encounter against the Clarets. It kick-started a run of four straight wins which helped us climb from ninth to fourth in the Premier League table.

Thiago Silva v Sheffield United (h) – 07.11.20

Thiago Silva broke Chelsea hearts when his header for Paris Saint-Germain at Stamford Bridge in 2015 sent us crashing out of the Champions League. However, the Brazilian has since made amends with his sterling defensive performances and timely goals including a glancing header off a Hakim Ziyech free-kick against Sheffield United when he was skippering the Blues for just the third time.

Willian v PAOK (a) – 20.09.18

Willian did not have too many opportunities to captain Chelsea but in our Europa League opener in Greece in 2018/19, the Brazilian led by example when he rounded off a counter-attack for the only goal against PAOK which got our campaign off and running. We won the competition for a second time.

Gary Cahill v Stoke City (a) – 18.03.17

With just three minutes left in our Premier League clash at Stoke in 2016/17, Gary Cahill pounced on a loose ball in the box following a corner to secure a 2-1 win over the Potters as we went 13 points clear at the top of the table with 10 games left in the season.

John Terry v Watford (h) – 16.05.17

When he notched the last of the 67 goals for Chelsea with a close-range finish to open the scoring in a 4-3 victory over Watford in 2016/17, John Terry extended a fine scoring record. The centre-back scored at least once in 17 consecutive Premier League campaigns for the club.

Frank Lampard v West Ham (h) – 17.03.13

Frank Lampard always seemed to enjoy finding the net against his former club with seven of his club-record 211 goals coming against the Hammers. When he broke the deadlock with a deft header in our 2-0 victory in March 2013, he became the second player after Bobby Tambling to reach the double-century mark for the Blues.