In quest of their second win of the season, Chelsea traveled to Elland Street for his or her conflict with Leeds United in Premier League gameweek three on Sunday afternoon (August 21).
Thomas Tuchel’s males have been uncharacteristically depressing in opposition to the Whites, succumbing to a harrowing 3-0 defeat away from house. Brendan Aaronson, Rodrigo Moreno, and Jack Harrison discovered the again of the web to reward Elland Street a memorable afternoon in opposition to their outdated rivals.
Chelsea began the sport in effective trend, taking lower than a minute to carve open their first likelihood of the match. Raheem Sterling discovered himself in an inviting place contained in the field however dragged his shot vast of the goal.
4 minutes later, the Pensioners caught Leeds out with a fast counterattack. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who obtained on the tip of the assault, had a chance to use a first-time end however ended up taking an additional contact and the prospect went begging.
Within the fifteenth minute, Sterling wheeled away in celebration as he discovered the again of the web with an impressed curling effort. To his disappointment, the aim was in the end dominated out for offside. 5 minutes later, Leeds obtained themselves their first likelihood of the encounter, with Rodrigo going for aim from a good angle. To Elland Street’s dismay, his effort zipped narrowly vast of the goal.
Simply previous the half-hour mark, Leeds scored their first aim of the match, courtesy of a second of insanity from Edouard Mendy and an excellent little bit of anticipation from Aaronson.
4 minutes later, Rodrigo doubled the hosts’ benefit, assembly Harrison’s inch-perfect free-kick supply with a thumping header. New Chelsea signing Marc Cucurella obtained a chance to drag a aim again for the guests within the fortieth minute, however the left-wingback couldn’t maintain his effort on track.
Cucurella obtained one other very respectable alternative early within the second half, however, as soon as once more, his ending let him down, along with his effort flying significantly over the bar. The west Londoners created a few respectable possibilities by Conor Gallagher and Reece James within the 57th and sixty fifth minutes, respectively. Whereas Gallagher’s effort (by way of a Marc Roca deflection) drifted simply previous the publish, James’ try was parried away by Illan Meslier.
Having been beneath the cosh for a bit, Leeds bounced again with a reply within the 69th minute, netting their third aim of the evening by Harrison. The aim, a fairly easy tap-in from shut vary, took the sport utterly away from the visiting aspect.
Within the 84th minute, issues turned from dangerous to worse for Tuchel’s aspect, as their newly-acquired centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly noticed a second yellow within the match. Taking part in with 10 males for the final 10 minutes, the Blues did not create something substantial and seemingly accepted their destiny.
Listed below are 5 Chelsea stars who underperformed of their 3-0 defeat to Leeds United on Sunday afternoon:
#5 Jorginho
Chelsea central midfielder Jorginho was some of the skilled gamers on the sphere on Sunday. Sadly, the Italian did not put his expertise to good use, struggling to supply something to put in writing house about. He not often ventured up the sphere, his passes have been not often adventurous, and he was usually brushed apart by the opposition.
In opposition to Jesse Marsch’s aspect, Jorginho didn’t make a single key cross, misplaced 5 of 11 duels, ceded possession 5 instances, and was dribbled previous thrice. He was understandably subbed off for Hakim Ziyech within the sixty fourth minute.
#4 Kai Havertz
Having loaned out Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea have taken a large gamble on attacking midfielder-turned-forward Kai Havertz. The German has the standard to make opponents pay, however he additionally has a fairly irritating behavior of usually vanishing from video games, one thing we witnessed in opposition to Leeds.
Havertz not often did something of notice in opposition to the Peacocks on Sunday, failing to register a single shot on track over the course of the match. His second-half efficiency was higher when it comes to involvement in build-up play, however he didn’t carry the much-needed aim risk to the desk.
In opposition to Leeds, Havertz didn’t try even a single shot, was unsuccessful in each dribble makes an attempt, misplaced eight floor and three aerial duels, and ceded possession 13 instances. He additionally dedicated three fouls and was caught offside on a few events.
#3 Raheem Sterling
Former Manchester Metropolis ahead Raheem Sterling was spectacular in pre-season fixtures for Chelsea, however is but to point out the identical diploma of confidence in aggressive fixtures. The Englishman obtained the prospect to open the scoring within the first minute on Sunday, however ended up dragging his effort vast. That off-target aim try apart, Sterling didn’t lodge a single shot on Sunday.
Raheem Sterling on why he joined Chelsea: “It was their intent, how they approached me. I wasn’t listening to guarantees, I used to be seeing motion and I feel that was one of many components that made me actually think about the soccer membership. It was a chance I would not let cross.” https://t.co/5UzV6BX3op
Sterling was additionally unsuccessful in three of his 4 tried dribbles, dropping 4 of 5 floor duels, and ceding possession 9 instances. He was additionally caught offside twice and was booked for a cynical foul on Roca within the thirty sixth minute, handing Leeds a free-kick in a harmful space. Harrison took the free-kick and located Rodrigo contained in the field, who headed house Leeds’ second aim from shut vary.
#2 Edouard Mendy
Broadly hailed as among the best goalkeepers on this planet, Edouard Mendy endured an uncharacteristically nervy afternoon on Sunday. He did not take management of his space, misplaced three lengthy balls (a complete of eight makes an attempt), misplaced a floor duel, and made an error that led to Leeds United’s first-half opener.
For some motive, Mendy held on to the ball for much too lengthy in opposition to Aaronson. He then tried to take him on, however the midfielder was fast to nick the ball from his toes and slotted it house from shut vary. Mendy couldn’t do a lot to save lots of the opposite two objectives, however his first-half error took a large toll on the Londoners’ confidence.
#1 Kalidou Koulibaly
Former Napoli star Kalidou Koulibaly was one of many Blues’ standout performers of their 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur final Sunday (August 14), scoring the primary aim of the match. In opposition to Leeds, he appeared like a shadow of his good self, committing foolish fouls and second-guessing each motion.
Simply 9 minutes into the match, the Senegalese blatantly pulled Aaronson’s shirt after being crushed by the midfielder. The referee rightly confirmed him a yellow card.
Within the 69th minute, he discovered himself out of sync with the remainder of the Chelsea backline as he performed Daniel James onside. The Welshman discovered Rodrigo contained in the field, who miscontrolled it, permitting Harrison to intercept and poke the ball house.
From dangerous to worse, to horrible. Koulibaly rounds off an terrible day at Elland highway with a cynical second yellow 😬#LEECHE https://t.co/BvdkeGSXg4
quarter-hour later, Koulibaly intentionally pulled down Joe Gelhardt after the teenager beat him, prompting the referee to attract a second yellow.
Koulibaly additionally misplaced three floor duels, misplaced eight lengthy balls and 16 passes, and ceded possession 16 instances in opposition to Leeds United.
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