Chelsea 2 Leeds United 2 – choking a point out of Chelsea. If ever there was a match that Leeds deserved to lose, then that was tonight away at Chelsea. All the signs before and during the match were pointing to a miserable defeat, a bad day at the office, against a resurgent Chelsea under their new coach, Rosenior. How Leeds dug out a draw says more about how Chelsea are inconsistent, and can’t kill off a game like Arsenal do. 4 points against Chelsea this season is a better than good return.
Leeds traditionally win nothing in London. With Calvert-Lewin out through illness it was a new challenge – how would Leeds cope without their experienced forward who has become a regular.
It was a strange first twenty minutes with a niggly Chelsea earning a couple of yellow cards. But Chelsea grew in the game and Palmer had too much space in the middle with his pace causing problems.
There was so much in the first half that showed Leeds without a plan. Firstly, with Bornauew asked to play forward, he was left behind by Palmer and eventually earned a yellow card and a substitution. A bad night for him. Nmecha is no stand-in for Calvert-Lewin and could not hold up the ball from Darlow. Aarsonson struggled to get hold of the ball as the Chelsea midfield got in the way. When the Chelsea goal came, it was route one with the Chelsea forwards constantly finding space.
Leeds spent most of the first half chasing shadows. It was only Chelsea’s tram like pace that held them back from scoring more. That said, Palmer, Pedro and Estevao contrived to keep the crosses coming in.
When the two Leeds goals came, they were their only two shots – a well-taken penalty by Nmecha and a rare moment of chaos in the Chelsea box that Okafor capitalised on with a simple tap-in.
Briefly at 2-2, Leeds were marching on, passing fluidly and venturing into the Chelsea looking for that winning goal. But they soon tired. The last ten minutes were painful to watch as Neto held court on the right, reigning in cross after cross. Leeds are vulnerable to losing matches to late goals, and Chelsea should have done just that. A clever cut back across the goal found Palmer in front of an empty net, but Palmer could not stop the ball from bouncing over the net. For a moment, the stadium stopped to wonder what had just happened. Palmer stood in the goal in disbelief; Chelsea fans went very quiet, and a raucous Leeds away contingent breathed a sigh of relief knowing the Gods had aligned in their favour. Even in extra time, Chelsea had the opportunity to win and fluffed it.
The players knew they had won a point more by making the goals happen when they did. The penalty came about when Bogle, in the middle of the park, charged forward with only a foul to stop him. The second goal came from Bogle again running into the Chelsea box, causing mayhem, with Okafor doing his job picking up the loose ball.
It was a well earned away point that kept Leeds six points away from the relegation zone. Nmecha talked about choking them out to nick a point. Leeds have now crept past Spurs into fifteenth.
Man of the match: Bogle’s run into the box causing the penalty changed the game for Leeds to earn the draw.
