Leeds United and Chelsea met at Elland Road today in what promised to be a very entertaining game, and it didn’t disappoint.
Leeds ran out 3-0 winners with goals from Brendan Aaronson, Rodrigo and Jack Harrison. The whites were worthy winners in a very fast-paced match. Chelsea started brightly and should have taken the lead in the first minute. Raheem Sterling cut in from the left and skipped two defenders to curl an effort just past the post from 20 yards. Minutes later Dan James had a wild effort sail over from the angle. Leeds’s high press forced Gallagher into a mistake and Jack Harrison tried a curler but Mendy read it for an easy save. Shortly after, Rodrigo broke free but dragged his shot wide from a tight angle.
Loftus-Cheek chased after a bouncing ball and clashed with Pascal Struijk with the Leeds man going to ground with what appeared to be an elbow to the face. VAR had a look and the play continued. Mason Mount had a low shot well saved by Illan Meslier as he tipped the ball round the post for a corner.
Kalidou Koulibaly picked up the first yellow of the contest in the 9th minute when he pulled down Brendan Aaronson after he superbly turned the big defender. Shortly after Raheem Sterling thought he had put the visitors in front after he slotted into the far corner, only to see the flag raised, and rightly so after he had drifted offside.
Leeds took the lead in the 33rd minute as Elland Road erupted. Aaronson chased down a pass back to Mendy and as the keeper struggled to get the ball out from under his feet, Aaronson pounced to nick the ball and tap it into an empty net, his first goal for the club. Just four minutes later, one became two as Rodrigo found space in the box to nod home a Jack Harrison whipped free-kick past a helpless Mendy. His fourth goal in three games so far this season. The host continued to press until the break and Chelsea were beginning to struggle to play their game.
The second half started as both teams remained unchanged and Leeds were not going to sit back on their lead. Dan James using his pace to set off down the flank, his back-post cross was well well met by Rodrigo but he was denied a second by a Chelsea block. Chelsea went close again when Conor Gallagher made himself a yard of space to shoot inside the box but a vital deflection sent the shot squirming wide of the post. Adam Forshaw came on for the hard-working Marc Roca as Jesse Marsch tried to make sure the slip at Southampton didn’t happen again. Chelsea responded by introducing Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech with 30 minutes remaining.
Chelsea forced Meslier into two stops, one from a Reece James thunder strike which he did well to tip wide, and Koulibaly’s tame header was an easy catch for the Frenchman. Leeds then made it three, securing the points in the 69th minute with a well-worked goal. Again, good work down the wing from James saw his cross find its way to Rodrigo who teed the ball up for Harrison to prod home from close range. Soon after, James was then replaced by Luis Sinisterra for his home debut.
Into the last 10 minutes, Marsch made his final three substitutions to close the game out when he brought on Sam Greenwood, Joe Gelhardt and Mateusz Klich to replace the trio of Aaronson, Rodrigo and Harrison. They received a standing ovation from the 36,372 fans in Elland Road. All three substitutes were straight into the action with Greenwood and Gelhardt thundering into tackles and then Klich and Gelhardt combining to put the youngster through on goal, only for Koulibaly to pull Gelhardt down and receive a second yellow.
With Chelsea down to 10 men, it was a bad day at the office as Leeds secured another crucial, deserved three points.
Player Ratings: Meslier(8), Kristensen (6), Koch (8), Llorente (7), Struijk (7), Roca (7), Adams (8), Aaronson (8), James (7), Harrison (9), Rodrigo (8).
Subs: Forshaw (6), Klich (6), Greenwood (6), Gelhardt (6), Sinisterra (6).
Attendance: 36,372 (away 2,851).
Referee: Stuart Attwell (8).
Yellow cards: Leeds (0), Chelsea: Koulibaly, Sterling.
Red cards: Chelse: Koulibaly.
Are you a Leeds expert? Take our quiz and prove it.