The Blues were seemingly coasting to victory after goals from Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer.
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Liam Rosenior said it was a bitter pill to swallow after Leeds fought back to draw with Chelsea (Nick Potts/PA)open image in gallery
Liam Rosenior said it was a bitter pill to swallow after Leeds fought back to draw with Chelsea (Nick Potts/PA) (PA Wire)
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Liam Rosenior said it was a “bitter pill to swallow” after Chelsea threw away a two-goal lead to allow Leeds to leave Stamford Bridge with a 2-2 draw.
A dominant display from the Blues which had them coasting to a fifth straight Premier League win through goals from Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer’s penalty suddenly gave way to chaos midway through the second half.
Lukas Nmecha halved the arrears from the penalty spot before a remarkable passage of play in which Jayden Bogle singlehandedly paralysed Chelsea’s defence allowing substitute Noah Okafor to tap into an empty net.
It had looked like being another step forward for the hosts who have been steadily growing into an exciting, watchable outfit under their new head coach.
Their abrupt collapse though pointed to a fragility in the face of setbacks that appears no closer to a resolution, as two points slipped away.
“Two key moments in the game that we don’t take care of,” said Rosenior. “We don’t stay calm. How the play gets there, we make a few poor decisions in the way we press and we give away a penalty.
“I can’t remember Leeds having a shot or a moment in the game. Some of our football in possession, our press and our energy was everything I wanted to see. That makes it even more of a bitter pill to swallow that we haven’t won the game.”
Leeds’ equaliser owed as much to Bogle’s tenacity in outmuscling Chelsea’s defence as it did to the Blues’ own hesitancy in dealing with the danger, though Rosenior believed his team should have had a free-kick.
“The lad handballs it,” he said. “It affects my players in that moment, they think it’s a handball, they switch off, we don’t clear the ball and they score. Then for 25 minutes it was wave after wave of attack.”
Under Rosenior there have been encouraging signals of a more dynamic approach to possession that has made Chelsea more threatening, and here again the ball moved with urgency, particularly through midfield where his side constantly seemed to outnumber Leeds.
In the end, it counted for little as old frailties were once more brought to the fore.
“We have to make sure we take care of moments and be professional,” said Rosenior. “It’s not about reacting to setbacks. You’re always going to have a spell in they game when you’re not on top. The ridiculous thing for us is that they’ve managed to score two goals in a five-minute period when for the other 90 minute we were by far the better team.”
Leeds boss Daniel Farke, whose team have lost just twice in their last 13 in the league going back to December’s 3-1 win over the Blues, reflected that there was much for his players to take pride in.
“A proper night of football,” he said. “A great night for everyone involved with Leeds United. I’m very proud of the players. Such a fightback.
“We have a never-say-die attitude. We have a self-belief that whatever happens we can always come back.
“I’m proud of this mentality.”