Chelsea fans looked on in disbelief at Stamford Bridge as a crazy six-minute period cost Liam Rosenior a fifth Premier League win from five games against Leeds United.
It is fair to say that Rosenior has not watched his Chelsea side dominate for as much as they did last night. Chelsea were the better side for 84 minutes, but the other six minutes cost Rosenior’s side all three points.
Indeed, the ever-reliable Moises Caicedo made a mistake and conceded a penalty on 67 minutes, tripping Jayden Bogle in the penalty area. With Chelsea 2-0 up, Lukas Nmecha halved the deficit with his spot kick.
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Then, six minutes later, a defensive mix-up saw Noah Okafor tap home. From the moment Leeds got back to 2-2, Chelsea dominated again, and Cole Palmer missed the sitter of his life in injury time, two yards out.
Chelsea would have won if £60m player was on the pitch
At half-time, Rosenior was forced to make a change he probably didn’t want to make. Marc Cucurella had tweaked his hamstring, and Rosenior had little other choice but to bring Jorrel Hato onto the pitch.
Marc Cucurella in action in Chelsea vs West Ham
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
According to Tim Sherwood on Premier League Productions, had Cucurella remained on the pitch and had the Spaniard not suffered a muscle issue, Chelsea would have gone on to secure a win against Leeds.
“Cucurella was a big miss. When he goes off Hato comes on, [but] I think he [Cucurella] would have killed the game off. He’s so good at it. He has that little bit of experience, that nous to just put the game to bed.
“Not worried about being pretty and scoring more goals. He realises when it’s time to kill the game off and I think he would have given that experience to be able to do that,” Sherwood said about Cucurella.
What Liam Rosenior said about Marc Cucurella after the match
Losing Cucurella is a blow. Mauricio Pochettino claimed Chelsea once tried to sell the former Brighton ace but now, he is one of the best full-backs in the Premier League and possibly, even in the entire world.
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Reece James speaks with Marc Cucurella during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
His consistency is remarkable, and actually, Cucurella is beginning to have an impact going forward – his assist for Cole Palmer’s hat-trick goal against Wolves was eye-catching. Losing Cucurella is a big blow.
Not just against Leeds, but for the future. Rosenior said: “He felt his hamstring at half-time, which is why we made the change for Jorrel. Hopefully it’s not too serious. It was a substitution for an injury.”
Cucurella was always likely to be rested for the FA Cup clash on Friday night against Rosenior’s old side Hull City. Fingers crossed, the Spain star will be good to go against Burnley in the next league game.
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