Leeds United climbed out of the relegation zone on Wednesday night with a massive win over Chelsea, and Paul Merson claims he knew Leeds would win before the game had even started.
Daniel Farke put rumours over his future as Leeds manager to bed, at least temporarily, as Leeds put in a stunning performance against Enzo Maresca’s men. That is three wins in three for Farke against Maresca.
What a win! Who was your Man of the Match? 🔥
Jaka Bijol in action for Leeds United
Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP via Getty Images
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Jaka Bijol opened the scoring with his first Leeds goal, a bullet header from an Anton Stach corner, before Ao Tanaka smashed home his first Premier League goal. A ripsnorter from 20 yards, past Robert Sanchez.
Pedro Neto got one back, but a mistake from Tosin Adarabioyo saw Noah Okafor tackle Sanchez and the ball bobbled to a grateful Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Merson says he knew Leeds would win before kick-off.
Daniel Farke celebrates after Leeds United defeat Chelsea
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Paul Merson shares why he changed his mind on Leeds v Chelsea
Maresca made changes to his side on Wednesday night, with Chelsea having played with 10 men against Arsenal on Sunday. Reece James was rested, while Moises Caicedo was suspended for the trip to Leeds.
Cole Palmer could only come on as a substitute and missed a big chance. According to Merson on Sports Keeda, the former Arsenal star claims he knew Leeds would win as soon as he saw Chelsea’s line-up.
“We need to talk about Chelsea here. I don’t know what Enzo Maresca was doing with his team selection in the defeat to Leeds As soon as I saw the line-up, I knew Chelsea weren’t going to win the game.”
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But it comes after Merson had predicted a Chelsea win earlier in the week, backing a 2-1 victory for the Blues. Ultimately, Merson changed his mind after initially thinking Maresca’s men would win the clash.
The highlights of stunning Leeds United win v Chelsea 😍
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Chelsea may have been missing players, but Leeds deserve praise
As many pundits have suggested, Chelsea lost this match because they rested players like James. But that is harsh on Leeds, who fully deserved the win and many would argue, forced Chelsea into a poor display.
Ethan Ampadu made 17 defensive contributions, Jaka Bijol produced his best display in a Leeds shirt and even Lucas Perri looked largely solid. Leeds were brilliant defensively, Farke saying it was back to its best.
Farke is not out of the woods just yet. The win over Chelsea is massive and it provides Leeds with some much-needed momentum. But it can’t start and end there, Leeds need more and it starts with Liverpool.
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