Chelsea were beaten by Leeds with a defensive mix-up allowing the Yorkshire side to easily score their third of the evening as Gary Neville lamented the players involved
Enzo Maresca saw Chelsea contribute to their own downfall
Enzo Maresca saw Chelsea contribute to their own downfall
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Gary Neville hammered the "mess" that led to Chelsea conceding against Leeds - which was created by some terrible decisions from Malo Gusto and Tosin Adarabioyo.
The Whites produced a stellar showing to post a much needed win, which halted the Blues' momentum at Elland Road. Enzo Maresca's side had enjoyed a stellar week but were undone 3-1 in Yorkshire.
An early Jaka Bijol header had put the hosts in front and then just before half-time Ao Tanaka produced a stunning strike to double the Leeds lead. Pedro Neto pulled one back five minutes into the second-half, but any hope they had disappeared after a calamitous defensive mix-up.
In his own box Gusto played a questionable pass into the path of Adarabioyo, who’s poor attempt to control the ball in his own six yard area allowed Noah Okafor to nip in. His effort was blocked by Robert Sanchez, but spilled into the path of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who had a tap-in to make it 3-1.
Neville said on Sky Sports commentary: "It’s a nightmare for Maresca, a dream for Leeds. The centre backs on the ball have been sloppy all night. I’m not sure if Gusto’s pass to Chalobah is the right one, you just have to welly it up the pitch. What are you doing trying to control it and play it back in there? And Sanchez… it is difficult for him.
"That front two for Leeds have beat Chelsea up for 72 minutes. What a mess. Chelsea’s defenders have been poor on the ball all night, playing it int their own six yard box to each other."
The victory lifted Leeds out of the bottom three, at least temporarily, and eased the pressure on Daniel Farke. Chelsea headed north having beaten Barcelona in the Champions League and impressed with a draw against Arsenal, whom they played with ten men on Sunday.
Maresca conceded that Leeds were better than the Blues across the board and was keen to move on from the loss ahead of the visit to Bournemouth.
Chelsea's defensive mix-up allowed Dominic Calvert-Lewin a tap-in
Chelsea's defensive mix-up allowed Dominic Calvert-Lewin a tap-in
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He said: "They were better than us in all the aspects and they deserved to win the game. There is nothing we can take from this game. The only thing we can do is try to understand the mistakes we have made, try to reset, because on Saturday we have another game. In tonight’s game there was no-one that was at his best level."
Amid talk of Chelsea producing a title charge Maresca had been keen to urge caution, calling for a level of consistency that wasn't there on Wednesday night.
"When you play the way we did in the last two games against Barcelona and Arsenal, you expect a better performance, no doubt," he said. "But because we perform so well against Arsenal and Barcelona and over the last month, that does not mean that we are going to perform always in the same way."
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