7 disastrous minutes, Chelsea bitterly shares points with Leeds United

Taking a two-goal lead due to the outstanding performances of Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer, yet repeated defensive mistakes made Chelsea drop a thrilling win to Leeds United.

Chelsea entered the home match against Leeds United in the 26th round of the Premier League with high confidence. Coach Liam Rosenior’s squad quickly imposed their style of play and fully exploited the absence of the visitors’ main striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin. In the 24th minute, the deadlock was broken after a classy combination: Cole Palmer delivered a precise through ball to Joao Pedro, who skillfully chipped over goalkeeper Darlow to open the scoring.

The psychological advantage helped the home team play enthusiastically throughout the first half. At the 58th minute of the second half, the lead doubled when Joao Pedro was fouled inside the penalty area. From the spot, Cole Palmer calmly and accurately converted the penalty, making it 2-0. At that moment, it seemed the three points were securely in London’s hands.

The scenario at Stamford Bridge suddenly reversed 180 degrees due to Chelsea’s defensive carelessness. In the 66th minute, midfielder Moises Caicedo committed a reckless foul on Bogle inside the box, awarding Leeds a penalty. Lukas Nmecha did not miss the chance to reduce the deficit to 1-2.

Before Chelsea could recover from the concession, disaster struck again just 7 minutes later. In the 73rd minute, a miscommunication between goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and young defender Josh Acheampong allowed Noah Okafor to tap into an empty net, leveling the score at 2-2 to the astonishment of the home crowd.

Despite intense pressure in stoppage time, including an unbelievable miss by Cole Palmer on an open goal in the 90+3rd minute, Chelsea failed to reclaim the victory.

This costly draw caused Chelsea to miss an important chance to break away in the league standings Premier League as they currently sit 5th with 44 points. They remain one point behind fourth-placed Man Utd, despite both teams having played the same number of matches. Meanwhile, Leeds United earned a deserved point to continue their hard-fought battle against relegation.