Leeds United threw away a two-goal lead to lose 6-3 in their Carabao Cup third round clash at Chelsea on Wednesday night. Tarik Muharemovic and Brenden Aaronson gave the Whites a commanding lead before the home side scored four without reply, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s late strike quickly countered by a Chelsea fifth.
Leeds opened the scoring after a brief spell of set-piece pressure, with Harry Wilson’s second inswinging corner in quick succession finding Muharemovic to head home at the back post. The Whites then came flying out of the blocks after half-time with Aaronson turning in Ethan Ampadu’s cross for 2-0.
But just a few minutes later, Chelsea had a penalty when Daniel James fouled Pedro Neto and Cole Palmer converted. The substitute then grabbed a quickfire second with a curled finish after losing Sean Longstaff easily.
Neto completed the turnaround to make t 3-2 with a curling finish after a loose ball was picked up by Chelsea in midfield with Danny Welbeck netting a fourth not long after. But Leeds weren’t done, with substitutes Noah Okafor and Calvert-Lewin combining for the latter to make it 4-3.
But Chelsea bounced back again, Morgan Rogers crossing for Barco to finish at the back post. Welbeck then grabbed his second and the home side’s sixth deep into added-time.
Here are your Leeds United player ratings...
7. CM: Sean Longstaff
5 - Not massively involved but won some decent tackles and covered plenty of ground. Lost Palmer so easily for Chelsea's second. | Getty Images
8. LWB: Melvin Bard
5 - Lost the ball a bit too often in the first-half, sending Farke absolutely mad at one point. Couldn't get close to Neto in the second half. | Getty Images
9. RW: Harry Wilson
6 - First assist for Leeds with a brilliant corner for Muharemovic. Passed a loose ball to Chelsea in midfield for Neto's goal. Not massively involved attacking wise. | Getty Images
10. LW: Brenden Aaronson
5 - Rushed himself into a couple of early losses of possession. Some poor first-half moments but made no mistake with the goal. Didn't do loads else in the final third however. | Getty Images
11. ST: Lukas Nmecha
6 - Some nice, albeit unorthodox, link-up play at times. Clumsy in other moments. Smart flick into space for Aaronson's goal. | Luke Walker/Getty Images
12. Sub: Anton Stach
6 - Got Leeds up the pitch a bit. Lost Rogers who crossed for Chelsea's fifth. | Bruce Rollinson/PA Wire