YEP Jury: A performance to be proud of, but more capital heartbreak for Leeds United

DAVID WATKINS

That was supremely disappointing and frustrating – another visit to the capital, another defeat, but one more from which we ought to have come away with something more than another beating.

It was so similar to so many London trips; a depleted Leeds making light of the ongoing injury worries and giving as good as they got in an entertaining game. Yet the football gods refused to give us a break and, whereas Joffy Gelhardt’s late equaliser should have been the final act, we once again contrived to shoot ourselves in the foot giving away a soft penalty in the dying seconds.

Gelhardt’s finish with his first touch, after coming on just minutes earlier was sublime and Tyler Roberts deserves credit for a fine assist too. To lose in such circumstances, with two Chelsea penalties giving them the edge, is heartbreaking.

We showed enough class against the dark blues of Chelsea to suggest that we can go to the Etihad tomorrow and give the light blue side of Manchester a real game.

Man of the match: Joe Gelhardt.

KEITH INGHAM

Leeds found out how Crystal Palace and Brentford felt against Chelsea when an injury-time Jorginho penalty denied them a share of the spoils that their display fully warranted.

United surprisingly went in front just before the half hour mark. Dan James was brought down in the area and the referee awarded a penalty that Raphinha once again dispatched superbly. Chelsea drew level when Illan Meslier made a mistake that eventually led to the ball reaching Mount who beat Meslier from just outside the six-yard box.

Chelsea took the lead after a rash challenge by Raphinha on Rudiger in the penalty area. Jorginho sent Meslier the wrong way from the spot. Incredibly, with less than 10 minutes to go, substitute ‘Joffy’ Gelhardt got on the end of a superb Tyler Roberts cross and the game was once again level.

Unfortunately, Klich clumsily caught Rudiger in the box and Jorginho converted the penalty in injury time. The subsequent negative reaction from some fans to Klich on social media was undeserved. We win together, we lose together!

Leeds just don’t seem to have had the rub of the green this season and will feel desperately unlucky travelling home with nothing to show for their efforts. They deserved a point but will take encouragement from the spirited performance.

Leeds travel to Manchester City tomorrow night and will hope that they can reproduce a similar performance to the one at Chelsea but hopefully get a better result this time.

Man of the match: Dan James.

ANDY RHODES

I think it’s safe to say that that result will hurt. Leeds were within a minute of getting a well-deserved point at Stamford Bridge, and over the 90 minutes, Leeds more than matched their hosts.

People on social media have been quick to blame Mateusz Klich for the defeat, but that’s as unfair as it is cowardly. Leeds win as a team and lose as a team. The penalties against United were soft and obviously changed a game that they were very much in.

The Whites went toe-to-toe with Chelsea in their own back yard – not many teams will get a result there this year.

A combination of Leeds’ performance and the away fans rattled Chelsea’s players, causing errors such as Reece James’ challenges on Dan James.

Tyler Roberts and Adam Forshaw were outstanding again, while Joe Gelhardt showed that he will be a very special player.

The atmosphere in the away end was jubilant and defiant throughout. This was a day to remember, despite the result. We can all be proud of the performance.

Man of the match: Adam Forshaw.

MIKE GILL

The result of this game was entirely predictable. The manner in which it came about certainly wasn’t.

The Whites were at least worth a point, if not all three. They scored the best goal of the match as Mateusz Klich sent a perfectly weighted pass to Tyler Roberts who crossed into the danger area for the lethal Joe Gelhardt to slide in and score.

In fact it was the only goal that didn’t come directly or indirectly from a mistake.

The other goal from open play came when Stuart Dallas was caught in possession after an ambitious pass out from Ilan Meslier.

Then there were the three penalties, all of them avoidable. Two were contrived by the wily Rudiger who is the number one expert in this suspicious practice. Jorginho did the honours on both occasions.

United’s penalty was deserved after Dan James was felled by Marcos Alonso. It was duly dispatched with a hop, skip and a jump by Raphinha.

Exciting and brutal, but in the end heartbreaking for United.

A proud performance.

Man of the match: Adam Forshaw.

JACOB STARR

A 3-2 defeat to Chelsea is never such a bad result, especially when a number of key players are absent, although it was so close to being a point at Stamford Bridge.

Joe Gelhardt’s 84th-minute equaliser looked to have earned us a deserved point, but Jorginho’s brace of penalties got the hosts all three points.

We played really well and on any other day, that would have merited at least a draw, but somehow this time the home side came away with the victory.

Luckily Watford lost on Friday night and only Burnley made up ground on us over the weekend, so the gap between us and the bottom three is now five points.

After the performance on Saturday, I am no longer worried about the rest of this month, despite how difficult it may seem.

The game at Chelsea was probably the toughest of the lot, and we’ve pretty much held our own without the first two or three names on the team sheet.

Man of the match: Adam Forshaw.

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