(Football news) Few would have predicted Leeds United scoring three past Chelsea heading into the weekend but it was a sublime performance by Jesse Marsch’s side as they secured the three points with a 3-0 win over the Blues. Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy was responsible for conceding the opening goal after being dispossessed by Brenden Aaronson who found the net in the 33rd minute. If that wasn’t all, Rodrigo doubled the hosts’ advantage just four minutes later to put Leeds firmly in the driving seat.

Chelsea struggled to cope with Leeds’ high press and despite Tuchel changing the formation and personnel in the second half, the Blues conceded another goal, this time in the 69th minute as Jack Harrison's close-range strike put the game to bed. To make matters worse for Chelsea, new signing Kalidou Koulibaly was sent off in the 84th minute for a second bookable offence. Leeds have had an impressive start to their 2022/23 Premier League season with manager Jesse Marsch getting seven points from three games and Rodrigo scoring four games in three matches.  

As for Chelsea, the Blues desperately missed N’Golo Kante who is out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury as Conor Gallagher simply wasn’t up to the task as a replacement for the Frenchman on his full debut. Moreover, Tuchel will be concerned that his team couldn’t cope up with the intensity that Leeds subjected them to or adapt to the manager’s change in formation during the game. While the transfer window might still be open to bring in more recruitments, Chelsea have some work to do as they have only secured four points from three games so far. 

Speaking after the match, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said “I think we lost it in the first 20 minutes. We had enough chances to get one or two goals up but then we lost the discipline. We gave two goals away, totally cheap and unnecessary. After that, the game was almost done because you lift the spirit, the belief. Everyone sees the mistake, it is a huge mistake in a crucial time of the match. He is the one who is most disappointed but it has cost us a lot. The body language, even in the 10 minutes before, it was not like it was in the last match, that is how I felt it. It was nothing to do with pressing, nothing to do with the style of Leeds. We should not confuse these two things. We gave an own goal away and a set-piece, that has nothing to do with anything."

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