Off the back of an incredibly successful week for Chelsea, the West London outfit have seemingly taken another step back in their pursuit of becoming genuine title contenders at Elland Road.
Not only was it a defeat for the Blues, but they were outplayed in every department by a team sat in the relegation zone and a manager under pressure to improve results.
Granted, Leeds tried something new that was much more effective. However, a team of Chelsea's quality should have had more than enough quality to condemn the home side to a defeat.
But all this proves one thing, Chelsea are still a distance away from being considered as a team that can challenge for the title.
A deep dive into the defeat
From back to front, there was plenty to be concerned about for Chelsea fans in their most recent defeat to Leeds. However, some aspects stick out a lot more than others:
Domination of the ball was not capitalised on
If you watched the highlights, you wouldn't believe it from the ratio of chances, but Chelsea dominated the possession of the ball with a 71% share over the ninety minutes. This was, of course, expected, but what perhaps was not was the visitor's lack of effectiveness whilst on the ball.
Chelsea registered 608 accurate passes against Leeds, but do not let these numbers deceive you, as a large volume of these would have been the defence passing back and forth to each other as they struggled to unlock Leeds.
Clear-cut chances came at a premium for Chelsea despite how much of the ball they had. A disappointing xG of 0.74 could only be registered from open play scenarios, with Pedro Neto's goal making up almost 20% of this.
More should have certainly been created from Chelsea's side, with the creative quality that their squad possesses, but they severely lacked in this department on Wednesday night.
Rotation does not help this Chelsea team
Although it is arguably a necessary thing for Enzo Maresca to take into account when selecting his starting eleven, there is no doubt that having to rest key players often costs Chelsea a lot at times.
This is a particularly prominent issue in the defence, as Reece James was named on the bench against Leeds, whilst Wesley Fofana was not even involved in the matchday squad.
This duo were two that stood out in the draw against Arsenal, making Chelsea a much more defensively solid team than they looked at Elland Road.
Whilst it is clear Maresca is looking to ease players back into action, the omission of these key players will hurt the Blues at times, and this was a prime example of this.
The rotation of defence is unhealthy for Chelsea's long-term goals. It feels like eventually Maresca will have to bite the bullet and start a more regular back four.
There were simply not enough positive plays from Chelsea
One of the most frustrating things from a Chelsea perspective would have been how negative the majority of the play was at Elland Road. Both Estêvão and Jamie Gittens would have been expected to take on their man much more than they did.
Gittens, in particular, opted to go backwards on most occasions in the first half. For a player like himself, whose key attribute is his dribbling, it would have provided grounds for concern for those watching in Blue.
This was an aspect for most of the game, excluding the ten minutes following Neto's goal. Leeds' third goal killed any form of momentum and swiftly pulled Chelsea back into their earlier ways.
Lack of consistency kills once again
Chelsea put in two superb performances in the last week against world-class opposition in Barcelona and Arsenal, respectively. The Blues have always had a tendency to turn up in games against the so-called 'big sides.
However, at times, games which the West London side would be expected to win comfortably have provided stumbling blocks. This is a regular occurrence for Chelsea, even in some of their most successful seasons.
A fantastic example is in the 2020/21 season. Led by Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea were on a magnificent run and climbing back up the Premier League table since the dismissal of Frank Lampard. But the first real issue came from West Brom of all teams. A 5-2 loss at Stamford Bridge came as a shock to many, but this is the sort of thing Chelsea fans have seen too many times.
What Chelsea now needs to do is ensure that this obstacle in their path does not continue to affect them and respond to this poor defeat with a win on their trip down south to Bournemouth.
What this proves
The bottom line is simple. Chelsea are not ready to return to the top step of the Premier League yet. This is not because they don't have the quality to match any team in the division over ninety minutes. It is because they can't replicate these world-class performances week-in-week out at this moment.
This will come with experience. The youthfulness of Chelsea's squad still leaves plenty of learning room as they continue to develop. Consistency will come with consistency between players, but for now, Chelsea will have to settle for challenging for European places, rather than the title itself.