Gary Neville's instant reaction to 'perfect' Leeds United performance vs Chelsea with huge praise
Leeds United were heavily praised by the former Manchester United defender following Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Chelsea.
Gary Neville has highlighted the impact of Leeds United’s front-two in a ‘perfect’ performance to beat Chelsea 3-1 on Wednesday.
Leeds produced arguably their best 90 minutes of the season to beat Enzo Maresca’s side, physically dominating their opponents with Lukas Nmecha and Dominic Calvert-Lewin particularly impressive. Daniel Farke switched to a back three and Jaka Bijol - back in the starting line-up - opened the scoring with a bullet header from an Anton Stach corner on six minutes.
Ao Tanaka doubled the home side’s lead just before half-time and despite Pedro Neto pulling one back, Leeds remained compact in defence and direct going forward. Calvert-Lewin made it 3-1 after a Chelsea mistake at the back and Neville, who was on co-commentary duty, was full of praise for the performance.
“Fully deserved,” Neville told Sky Sports of the victory. “It was a perfect match for Leeds. They changed the system, played three at the back and were outstanding at the back. The midfield was full of energy but it was all about that front two, particularly in that first 10 or 15 minutes. They set the tone for the whole night and they beat Chelsea.
“Chelsea couldn’t match them. They maybe didn't understand what Elland Road was going to bring tonight, they’ve not prepared for this type of fixture and Leeds have delivered. A bad one for Chelsea but a great night for the [Leeds] coach, Calvert-Lewin and the rest of the Leeds United players.”
Victory has pulled Leeds out of the relegation zone for 24 hours at least, three points clear of West Ham who face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Thursday. There is also now a four-point cushion on Burnley and 12 points separating the Whites from rock-bottom Wolves.
“The boost of coming out of the bottom three will be big, but the even bigger boost will be that they’ve gone and won a big match and they’ve found maybe a way forward,” Neville added. “Leeds fans were asking the question, ‘has the coach got a plan B? Can he get them out of this mess?’
“There was some pressure building but tonight, I think the way in which they’ve played, we’ll maybe see them pick up a lot more points. I think there’s a lot to like about that tonight.”