Leeds United captain Ethan Ampadu, Chelsea player Cole Palmer in a circular insert.
Leeds United captain Ethan Ampadu, Chelsea player Cole Palmer in a circular insert.
Leeds United earned an impressive 2-2 draw against Chelsea away from home amid a pulsating relegation battle.
Stamford Bridge. Ninety-four minutes on the clock. The scoreline reading 2-2. Cole Palmer, one of the Premier League’s most lethal finishers, stands two yards from goal with an open net in front of him.
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What happened next was unbelievable as Palmer’s shot sailed over the bar. The away end erupted. Chelsea players stood motionless. Somewhere in the chaos, Leeds United was allowed a moment to exhale.
Daniel Farke’s squad had defended valiantly for the last twenty or so minutes of the second half, and although they rode their luck, they somehow ended up adding another point to their tally for the season.
A point for Leeds earned through grit
Leeds had no right to leave West London with anything. For 65 minutes, Chelsea were rampant. Joao Pedro’s delicate chip and Palmer’s clinical penalty put the hosts two goals ahead. Liam Rosenior’s side looked set to continue their perfect start under the new management.
But Leeds do not go away easily under Farke. Jayden Bogle won a penalty. Lukas Nmecha converted. Then came the equaliser, scrappy, chaotic, but utterly deserved. Noah Okafor bundled the ball home after Chelsea failed to clear their lines. Leeds’ second flipped the script entirely.
Then came that moment. The cross. The gaping net. Palmer’s left foot connected cleanly from point-blank range. Ethan Ampadu watched it unfold, convinced the game was lost.
“I saw it coming in and I fully expected it to hit the back of the net because he is a very good player,” the Leeds captain admitted. “To be honest, when it got squared across, I looked back to the halfway line deflated because I thought it was a goal.”
What followed was pure disbelief. Palmer’s effort somehow cleared the crossbar. Ampadu, like everyone inside Stamford Bridge, could hardly process what he had witnessed.
“I looked deflated because we dug in a lot, we showed character and grit, and I thought that would have gone in the back of the net, but sometimes you need a bit of luck,” Ampadu said when talking to TNT Sports after the game.
READ MORE:“Leeds are terrible” – Ex-Chelsea man slams Leeds United in huge meltdown live on radio – The Leeds Press
Data suggests Leeds were let off the hook by Cole Palmer
To put it into context of just how bad Palmer’s miss was, it had an expected goals value of 0.78.
That means that an average player would be expected to score this chance 78 out of 100 times, but when you factor in that it was arguably a world-class player taking the shot in Palmer, that makes things even worse. (Sofascore)
Leeds have been cruelly robbed of valuable points in the dying moments of games at times this season, with the clashes against Fulham and Newcastle in particular springing to mind.
However, Palmer’s miss at Stamford Bridge was a huge slice of luck that went United’s way, with the draw ensuring the gap between themselves and the bottom three remains at six points.
READ MORE:‘Unacceptable…’ – Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior raging with key refereeing decision during draw with Leeds United – The Leeds Press