Chelsea were sent back to London with their tails between their legs after being thrased by a highly energetic and brilliant Leeds United side.
Goals from Brenden Aaronson, Rodrigo and Jack Harrison sealed a second win of the season for Leeds to send Jesse Marsch’s men into the top four.
The hosts made the brighter start in front of a raucous Elland Road crowd but it was Chelsea who had the gilt-edged early chances, with Raheem Sterling firing narrowly wide and then finding the back of the net when just offside.
But the Blues weren’t in the ascendancy for long and were left stunned by two goals in as many first-half minutes as Aaronson and the lively Rodrigo put Leeds firmly in charge.
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Edouard Mendy made a horrendous error for the opener when trying to turn away from Aaronson’s pressure with the ball at his feet. The Chelsea keeper stuttered and allowed the Leeds midfielder to steal the ball for an easy tap-in.
Chelsea hardly had time to catch their breath before picking the ball out of the net for a second time as Rodrigo nodded home a fine header from Jack Harrison’s pinpoint delivery.
Harrison then put the game to bed in the second half as his outstretched left leg fired the ball past a hopeless Mendy after Rodrigo nodded down Dan James’ cross back towards the front pass.
To make matters worse for Chelsea, they had Kalidou Koulibaly sent off late on for a second yellow card on an afternoon to forget for the £33m defender.
Leeds player ratings
Illan Meslier: Not called upon often but made two smart saves to deny low shots from Mount and James 8
Rasmus Kristensen: Struggled to get the better of opposite man Cucurella while having to watch out for Sterling’s darting runs in front of him 5
Robin Koch: Said much about Leeds’ dominance and Havert’z ineffectiveness that their centre-back had so little to do, but he won’t mind that with three points and a clean sheet in the bag 7
Diego Llorente: More than capable of dealing with the runs in behind from Mason Mount and Chelsea’s false nine Havertz on a quiet day for Leeds’ defence 7
Pascal Struijk: Didn’t offer lots going forward but kept close tabs on opposite number Ruben Loftus-Cheek to ensure Chelsea had no joy down his side of the pitch 7
Marc Roca: Took nasty blow to the head in coming together with Gallagher
Tyler Adams: Calm distributor in front of the back four who helped ensure Leeds got the better of the midfield battle 8
Daniel James: In the side for injured Patrick Bamford, wayward early shot and some poor passing but dangerous cross helped to set up Harrison for the third 6
Brenden Aaronson: Got the better of Jorginho in early midfield battle and then created an excellent bit of pressure to force Mendy into mistake and open scoring 8
Jack Harrison: Created more chances than any other Premier League player over first two weekends, and looked a threat again whenever on the ball. Early stinger to test Mendy, precise dead-ball delivery teed up Rodrigo’s goal and then scored one of his own 9
Rodrigo: Bright spark who pressed from the front relentlessly. Neat bit of anticipation led to early chance but sent left-footed shot well wide before scoring Leeds’ second with excellent header and teeing up Harrison for third 9
Subs: Adam Forshaw (5), Luis Sinisterra (5), Sam Greenwood (5), Mateusz Klich (5), Joe Gelhardt (5)
Chelsea player ratings
Edouard Mendy: Made horrendous error to gift Aaronson the opener after riding his luck on several occasions with ball at feet in face of Leeds’ high press 3
Reece James: Struggled to get into the game after starting in the back three again but made instant impact when given more attacking freedom in the second half. Surely has to start in prefered wing-back role next week 6
Kalidou Koulibaly: Incredibly scatty display that culminated in a red card despite a promising start to his Chelsea career. Booked early on for shirt pull after being skinned by Aaronson and put teammates in trouble on several occasions with sloppy and overambitious passing 3
Thiago Silva: Did little wrong and let down by defensive teammates Koulibaly and Mendy as Chelsea imploded under pressure 6
Ruben Loftus-Cheek: Spurned glorious early chance after hesitating with shot and didn’t really offer enough attacking threat from his starting wing-back role. Moved into midfield when Gallagher and Jorginho were taken off 4
Marc Cucurella: Lively attacking threat with little to do going backwards. Wasted two good chances to cut deficit with scuffed shots off each foot 5
Jorginho: Struggled for space and time without the energetic presence of the injured N’Golo Kante by his side and distribution suffered as a result. Hooked for Hakim Ziyech as Tuchel rang the changes 5
Conor Gallagher: Gave ball away twice in frantic early exchanges of his first Chelsea start and struggled to settle thereafter. Replaced after an hour by Christian Pulisic 5
Raheem Sterling: Two superb jinking runs nearly resulted in goals, but first shot was sent narrowly wide before being found offside for second. Struggled to get in game in the second half 7
Mason Mount: Nice turn and shot to force Meslier into smart save but didn’t get enough of the ball as the Leeds press suffocated Chelsea’s possession. Replaced by Ben Chilwell with 15 minutes left 6
Kai Havertz: Almost completely anonymous in first half. Dropped deeper after the break in an effort to see more of the ball but still struggled to make any impact 4
Subs: Christian Pulisic (5), Hakim Ziyech (5), Ben Chilwell (5), Cesar Azpilicueta (5)
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