Woeful Chelsea well beaten by Leeds as they struggle without Caicedo | OneFootball

Chelsea’s run of seven without a defeat came to an end in Leeds, as their hosts jumped out of the relegation zone with a victory.

The form book suggested it should be a relatively straight forward night for Enzo Maresca’s side. The Blues came into this fixture in fine form, and sitting pretty in third place in the table. Their opposition had lost four on the bounce, dropping into the relegation places with just a single win since September. However football seldom follows the script, and it certainly did not tonight at Elland Road.

A little over ten days ago, following Chelsea’s last trip up north and their 2-0 victory over Burnley, Maresca vowed that he would not be leaving Moises Caicedo out of his team again. However, the Italian has now been forced to make do without the key midfielder, following his red card against Arsenal last Sunday.

There is no doubt that Caicedo is the heartbeat of this Chelsea side and they certainly looked like they were missing their pulse tonight. Andrey Santos filled in phenomenally for the Ecuadorian at Turf Moor, but he failed to match that performance at Elland Road.

Chelsea’s problems were not limited to just the absence of their number 25. Trevoh Chalobah was deployed at right-back, a role in which he never looked comfortable. The centre back pairing of Tosin Adarabioyo and Benoit Badiashile similarly never once one looked at ease throughout the night.

Leeds also entered the clash with similar concerns of their own. Farke almost masterminded an unlikely comeback at the Etihad last weekend. With his side two goals down at half-time, he threw caution to the wind and switched to two up front. Leeds battled back to draw level with Manchester City, before an injury-time winner cruelly denied them any points.

Perhaps emboldened by that second half display, Farke opted to play with two strikers from the start this evening. The move had the desired effect from the off. The attacking intent evident in the line-up manifested itself within the atmosphere, with the crowd in turn galvanising the players. Less than 90 seconds into the game, intense pressing from Leeds forced Cucurella to kick the ball out of play – a sign of things to come.

The hosts were on top from the off and were soon rewarded. After just six minutes Jaka Bijol put Leeds ahead. The defender leaped highest at the front post, meeting Anton Stach’s corner and powering his header past Robert Sanchez. More opportunities followed, with Pascal Struijk passing up a huge chance to double the hosts’ lead, again from a corner.

Maresca’s forward players also failed to assert any influence on the first-half. With a real lack of direction, Chelsea failed to create any serious chances ad deservedly went in behind at the break, and not just by one goal.

The hosts doubled their lead just before half-time, courtesy of a fine Ao Tanaka strike from outside the area. The two-goal advantage was thoroughly deserved by Farke’s side, with the German surely feeling as if he has cracked the formula for success.

Conversely, Maresca cut a distressed figure at the break. The Italian acted to rectify the situation by sending on Pedro Neto and Malo Gusto for Estevao and Badiashille. The Portuguese winger had an impact instant, getting one back for his side less than five minutes into the second period. Neto fired home after being picked out at the back post by an excellent Jamie Gittens delivery.

The goal seemingly served as a catalyst for Chelsea – for a short time at least. Delap drilled one wide into the side netting, as it looked like the visitors were going to turn things around.

Further inspiration came in the form of Cole Palmer, who made his long-awaited return after a two-month absence. The talisman entered the action on the hour mark, alongside Alejandro Garnacho, and the two linked up brilliantly soon after coming on. The Englishman steered his effort off target though, squandering the opportunity to immediately mark his return.

The visitors new-found momentum would not last long though. Leeds had already had the ball in the net for a third time courtesy of Lukas Nmecha. Although, with both him and Calvert-Lewin offside during the build-up, the flag went straight up for offside. However, Chelsea would not be spared by the linesman again in the 72nd minute.

Tosin went to sleep and was dispossesed in his own six-yard box by substitute Noah Okafor, who poked the ball past a furious Sanchez. Dominic Calvert-Lewin was left with the simplest of finishes, tapping home from into an empty net from a yard out. It was the striker’s second goal in his last two games, and his first at Elland Road since joining in the summer.

Santos was then replaced by Marc Guiu, in a final roll of the dice from Maresca. It was a move that left the visitors even more exposed at the back, and they were lucky that Leeds did not inflict further damage on the scoreline in the closing moments.