Match Recap: Chelsea 3-1 Leeds United

Leeds United were beaten by Chelsea 3-1 in front of fans for the first time since the COVID-19 break, with The Blues climbing to the top of the table.

The Whites took the lead early-on as Kalvin Phillips latched onto a clearance toward the left. He sent the ball through for Patrick Bamford who broke between the defenders, rounded the keeper and slipped the ball home to give Leeds the lead.

But Chelsea relentlessly knocked on the door, and eventually broke through on 27 minutes as Reece James broke quickly on the right, whipping the ball for Giroud who spun debutant Diego Llorente and poked the ball into the net.

After an intense first half, things got a little slower with Chelsea looking the most dangerous. Their reward came on the hour mark as Mount’s corner kick found Zouma in the middle who stormed above all and headed in for the lead as Cooper went down under an accidental trip by Giroud.

Substitute Ian Poveda was very unlucky not to get a penalty as the game closed out, in a similar situation to Welbeck and Roberton’s clash as Brighton were awarded a late penalty kick against Liverpool. A 50-50 challenge resulting in the defender kicking the foot of the attacker, but Poveda chose to chase the ball rather than go down.

Chelsea sealed their win in the final moments as Werner was put through on the counter attack, cutting it across to Pulisic who had a simple tap-in.

Overall it was a pretty fair result with some poor moments from the away side defensively. Leeds will be looking to improve ahead of their next match as West Ham United visit Elland Road on Friday night.