Leeds United outclassed Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea at Elland Road beating the blues 3:0 despite the German changing formation multiple times in the match.
Chelsea went into the match with a 3-4-2-1 formation while Leeds United went into the game with a 4-2-3-1 formation.
The match started off with Leeds United attacking massively and disabling Chelsea’s midfield in the process.
In the second minute, Sterling is threaded by Gallagher down the left, cutting inside before entering the area. Leeds moved back, and the Chelsea player fired a shot, but it missed the target.
The Chelsea defender in the 8th minute was forced to pull Aaronson back after leaving Koulibaly grasping at nothing as things appeared bright for Leeds.
Mendy, after being touted as the best Chelsea keeper since Peter Cech sold the game early as he tried to dribble Aaronson who flicked on the ball to score a cheap goal.
At the halfway point of the game, Leeds took the lead thanks to Aaronson’s first club goal.
It was a complete flop; when the ball was returned to the Chelsea goalkeeper, he attempted to skip around the Leeds midfielder rather than clearing it.
However, Aaronson overtook him, grabbed the ball, and strolled it into the goal to give Leeds the lead.
Leeds had a fantastic opportunity after Sterling was cautioned for what appeared to be a very mild tackle on the edge of the Chelsea box.
Rodrigo beat everyone to Harrison’s free-kick at the near post and placed it inside Mendy’s far post. The Chelsea goalkeeper was helpless to save the second goal.
The second half began with Thomas Tuchel changing formation from 3-4-2-1 to a more traditional 4-3-3 with the intent to salvage a point or overturn the game in Chelsea’s favor.
Harrison contributed to Leeds United’s third goal of the game which came in the 69th minute.
Harrison guided the ball past Mendy at the near post after Rodrigo caught a Dan James’ cross.
VAR received a few checks for offside for a few minutes, but the referee awarded the goal.
Rodrigo came within a foot of giving Leeds a fourth, but Cucurella reacted quickly to clear Harrison’s shot from the area.
At Elland Road, the party appeared to have begun minutes before the final whistle.
However, in the 84th minute, the Chelsea latest defensive signing Kalidou Koulibaly received his second yellow card after pulling Gelhardt in what looked like a rugby tackle-esque challenge and the referee sent the Senegalese International off.
In addition, and rightfully so, Jack Harrison was named the match’s official man of the match.
The 3-0 victory is Leeds’ first victory over Chelsea in the Premier League in 21 years. Additionally, it was really emphatic.
Leeds also recorded its first unblemished game since November 2021.
On August 27, 2022, Chelsea will play Leicester City at Stamford Bridge with the hope of regaining momentum.
