Chelsea vs Leeds

Leeds blow Chelsea away thanks to goals from Brenden Aaronson, Rodrigo and Jack Harrison in front of a raucous Elland Road crowd. Soccer Football - Premier ...

In a league of fine margins Chelsea bought Sterling to make a difference. At a new club and with a World Cup to come, this should be a great time to be Raheem Sterling. Where Sterling is better is in front of goal, finding the net every three games, twice the ratio of Giggs. He missed a sharp chance in the opening minutes and had a first-half goal disallowed. As it is he has yet to score in three games for Chelsea and was largely a peripheral figure. A player desperately seeking to re-establish himself at the most important juncture of his career was unable to gain a foothold in the game. Booked early on for shirt pull after being skinned by Aaronson and put teammates in trouble on several occasions with sloppy and overambitious passing. It is a set-piece and a huge mistake – until then we were the ones who created more. Edouard Mendy made a horrendous error for the opener when trying to turn away from Aaronson’s pressure with the ball at his feet. Surely has to start in preferred wing-back role next week 6 “A really good performance, the best since I have been here,” he said. “Giving an own goal and set-piece away has nothing to do with it.

Edouard Mendy - Having had a confident opening 30 minutes, Chelsea's goalkeeper kept hold of the ball too long near Brendan Aaronson, and a poor touch saw ...

Like his teammates, he saw little success going forward but played okay given the situation. Hakim Ziyech - Like Pulisic, found himself in a deeper role than he is accustomed to. Raheem Sterling - The former Man City man spurned an early chance to put the Blues ahead but couldn't keep his shot on target, and when he did put the ball in the back of the net, the offside flag was raised. Kai Havertz - The German forward was fairly anonymous in the opening half and provided little threat to the Leeds backline. Mason Mount - Struggled to find himself in the game early on before showing good ability to carry the ball against the well-stocked Leeds backline to win a corner. Conor Gallagher - Had a similarly tough afternoon as his midfield teammate, and while the former Crystal Palace loanee showed flashes of his ability driving forwards, he simply lost the ball too often. Jorginho - A difficult afternoon for the Italian, who was constantly under pressure and outnumbered by the opposition midfield in the opening half. Ruben Loftus-Cheek - Like many of his teammates, Loftus-Cheek was perhaps too wasteful in possession in the opening half and much improved when he was allowed to play in midfield in the second. Kalidou Koulibaly - The Senegal international got a very early booking when he held Brenden Aaronson's shirt after the American winger left him for dead. He added more when he returned to the right flank in the second half. 5. Could not be faulted for the following goals but the first set the tone for the afternoon.

Thomas Tuchel has made one change to his team for today's trip to Leeds United, as Conor Gallagher is handed his full Chelsea debut.

It is an unchanged attack for the third game running, with Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz forming a front three. There could be another debut at Elland Road, as Carney Chukwuemeka is named among the substitutes for the first time since joining from Aston Villa, while Ethan Ampadu is on the bench for the first time since our Europa League final win over Arsenal in 2019. Gallagher, who has come off the bench in our two previous Premier League fixtures this season, starts for the Blues for the first time at Elland Road, replacing the injured N'Golo Kante in midfield alongside Jorginho, who captains the team.