Chelsea  4 Leicester City  3When Avram Grant promised more excitement at Stamford Bridge, this cannot have been what he meant.

Twice Leicester led, Chelsea snatching their second equaliser only in the 86th minute, but two late goals from Andriy Shevchenko and Frank Lampard stopped the visitors from recording a victory which could have been remembered as their own special one. Four minutes from time the Ukrainian's fine turn and shot brought his team level, and in the second minute of stoppage time Lampard's header squeezed over the line to provide a dramatic winner.

If a certain resignation had been evident when Frank Burrows, Leicester's caretaker manager, spoke in the build-up to the match of his desire that his players "just do themselves justice" and "return with their heads held high", there must have been no such sentiments in his pre-match team talk, for his side started as if inspired.

Given Chelsea's reputation and Leicester's league position, a certain amount of defensive panic must have been expected but it was a surprise to see it from the home side as Gareth McAuley, a stand-in captain playing for a stand-in manager, headed the visitors into a sixth-minute lead. Chelsea had been expecting Shaun Newton to cross from his left-wing free-kick but instead he played the ball down the line to Matt Fryatt.

The striker's centre found McAuley running in from the edge of the area to power a header into the net while those around him in blue stood useless.

McAuley was only leading the side because Stephen Clemence, the club captain, had failed a fitness test shortly before kick-off, as had the forward Ian Hume. Some 40 coaches had travelled down from the midlands but Leicester fans hoping for the second giant-killing of a cup run that saw them squeeze past Aston Villa in the last round were hit by the double blow of an absence of familiar names from their own team sheet and an abundance of them on Chelsea's.

Leicester initially appeared undaunted, coping with their inevitable lack of possession and snapping gamely into tackles.

But twice in the first half that was to prove their undoing. First Darren Kenton dispossessed Lampard, but the ball rolled wide to Juliano Belletti. The Brazilian's cross found Scott Sinclair, who headed the ball back into the middle where Lampard sidefooted past Marton Fulop.

Then on the half-hour Bruno N'Gotty did excellently to divert Sinclair's cross away from Claudio Pizarro at the near post. Sadly the ball looped to Lampard, eight yards out, and he calmly volleyed his side into the lead.

Shaun Wright-Phillips, under pressure to perform after a two-game absence from the side, was being emphatically outshone by the 18-year-old Sinclair on the opposite flank.

Not only had the left-winger been involved in both goals, he twice came close to claiming one of his own only to be denied by Marton Fulop in the Leicester goal.

Fulop had conceded in just one of seven games before last night and the goalkeeper continued his good form last night. His finest save came in the 64th minute when Wright-Phillips rolled a ball across goal that Pizarro appeared certain to turn in before the Hungarian appeared to beat the ball away.

Leicester were to be rewarded for their resistance. Five minutes later, two substitutes combined to draw them level, Levi Porter chipping the ball over Chelsea's defence and DJ Campbell capitalising on Carlo Cudinici's hesitance to head in. A further five minutes and they had taken an unlikely lead, Alan Sheehan's free-kick turned in by Carl Cort at the far post.

CHELSEA: Cudicini, Belletti, Alex, Ben-Haim (Essien 80), Ferreira (Malouda 52), Wright-Phillips, Sidwell, Lampard, Sinclair (Kalou 78), Shevchenko, Pizarro. Subs not used: Hilario, Obi. Booked: Sidwell, Ben-Haim.

LEICESTER: Fulop, Stearman, McAuley, N'Gotty, Kisnorbo, Sheehan, Newton (Porter 60), Chambers, Kenton, Cort, Fryatt (Campbell 62), Porter (Maybury 80). Subs not used: Henderson, Hellings. Booked: Newton, Sheehan.

Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire).