Chelsea’s habit of squandering leads did not leave with Enzo Maresca. The lapses in concentration have piled up and there was another to add to the list after Stamford Bridge witnessed an inexplicable collapse against Leeds, who took another step towards staying up fighting back from 2-0 down to keep themselves six points above the bottom three.
The turnaround was not on the cards when Cole Palmer, who had earlier collected his first assist in the Premier League this season, extended Chelsea’s advantage by scoring from the spot for the third time in two games. By the end, though, Liam Rosenior was watching the prospect of an eighth win in 10 games slip away. The implosion was staggering. Lukas Nmecha and Noah Okafor had capitalised on dreadful defending to make it 2-2 and, while Chelsea rallied, their hopes of a late winner ended when Palmer produced a contender for miss of the season.
Palmer was no more than two yards out when he connected with a cross from Moisés Caicedo and somehow fired over. Chelsea, who have dropped 17 points from winning positions, flailed at both ends. They kept Leeds at arm’s length for 67 minutes, only to reckon without the unlikely restorative powers of Jayden Bogle.
The versatile 25-year-old defender sparked the comeback when he thundered into the area, drew a clumsy challenge from Caicedo and stepped aside for Nmecha to halve the deficit. More was to come. Josh Acheampong was flimsy, Bogle forced the error and Okafor was free to score for the second time in five days.
“Six minutes of switching off,” Rosenior said. “We have to make sure we are switched on for 90 minutes. As simple as that. We should come away with three points. We haven’t because of two moments.”
Rosenior’s wait for the perfect 90 minutes goes on. The frustration is that Chelsea were impressive for an hour. Palmer looked free and João Pedro scored again. “Some of our football was everything I wanted to see,” Rosenior said. “That makes it even more of a bitter pill to swallow.”
Part of the problem is how Chelsea respond to setbacks. The loss of composure and shape at 2-1 was impossible to defend. Bogle handled during the buildup to the equaliser but he should never have been allowed to advance so far. Leeds simply wanted it more in that moment. Daniel Farke’s side were without key players but relished giving Chelsea a bloody nose for the second time since promotion.
“Great vibes from everyone in the team,” Farke said. “I’m very proud of my players. I just have compliments for them for such a fightback. If you go 2-0 down, of course it can be a long night, but our players have this never‑say-die attitude.”
Chelsea needed patience against a deep five-man defence. They looked for solutions with rotational movement in possession. Andrey Santos, who has been one of the beneficiaries of Rosenior replacing Maresca, dropped into defence to start moves, Marc Cucurella pushed into eye‑catching areas from left‑back and there was plenty of freedom for Palmer.
Gaps started to appear after a quiet 20 minutes. The opener came when Santos threaded a pass through the lines. Palmer took it on the half-turn and released João Pedro, who collected his sixth goal in eight games by lifting a clever finish over Karl Darlow.
Chelsea were glad to see Palmer and João Pedro on the same wavelength. They are a devastating duo when they are fit and on song. Palmer has three assists in all competitions this season and it is no coincidence that they have all been for João Pedro.
It is not all one-way, though. João Pedro has won three penalties in two games for Palmer. The Brazilian works so hard. He raced on to a long ball in the 58th minute and got there before Jaka Bijol, who was penalised for a crazy shove on the Chelsea striker.
Up stepped Palmer to send Darlow the wrong way from the spot. Leeds had offered nothing with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Anton Stach missing up front. It is rarely simple with Chelsea, though.
Without a clean sheet in six games, they were rattled when Nmecha pulled a goal back from the spot. Leeds went direct. Bogle bustled into the area, held off Acheampong and pushed the ball away from Robert Sánchez. Okafor, on as a substitute, tapped into the empty net.
Chelsea threw on Liam Delap. João Pedro headed just over the bar. Palmer produced his miss. Chelsea grasped for answers.
