Cole Palmer’s face said it all. His mouth agasp in utter disbelief, the 94th-minute open-goal miss of the weekend’s hat-trick hero perhaps signalled the end of Liam Rosenior’s honeymoon period is over. And once more, it’s against Leeds United where fortunes change for a Chelsea manager.
Before the visit of Daniel Farke’s men, Rosenior’s early career at the Stamford Bridge helm consisted of seven wins in nine games, only suffering defeat in Chelsea’s two Carabao Cup semi-final legs against quadruple-chasing Arsenal. His impressive record had admittedly been aided by a favourable run of league fixtures, with his only top-half opponents coming in the form of Brentford in mid-January. But considering the backlash from a portion of the fanbase to his appointment, alarm bells were yet to really sound on BlueCo’s pick.
Dropped points against Leeds, however, could be the reality check that shifts the tide, as was the case in December. The visitors’ dismantling of Chelsea in this season’s reverse fixture plunged a club with a growing ambition of a title charge into turmoil. Defeat at Elland Road, eight days on from a stunning 3-0 win over Barcelona, can be seen as the turning point that led to Enzo Maresca’s messy demise. A month and two wins in seven games later, the Italian was sacked.
Chelsea were overrun in that contest, falling victim to a blistering start by Daniel Farke’s side as they fell behind inside six minutes. There was a brief sense the same was about to happen when Jayden Bogle, bizarrely playing in a second striker role rather than his usual wing-back position, found himself in the Blues box inside 60 seconds, a break stemming from Cole Palmer giving the ball away cheaply. Without Dominic Calvert-Lewin in support, who lost his race to make fitness, Bogle ended up running the ball out of play, but it was an early glimmer of hope for the visitors.
That glimmer was swiftly snuffed out as Chelsea grew increasingly comfortable. Leeds became camped in their own half as the hosts pressed and probed, who found the breakthrough in the 24th minute thanks to a scything Chelsea move, cutely finished by Joao Pedro after being slipped in by Palmer.
That’s eight goal contributions in his last nine outings for the Brazilian, who had seen his star fade after an electric start to his Chelsea career. The instant impact he made in New Jersey last summer, lighting up the latter stages of the Club World Cup before carrying that form into the opening weeks of the season, led many to tip him as the Premier League’s signing of the season. He is now rediscovering the potency that justified that initial hype.
The roles of Chelsea goalscorer and provider swapped after the break. Jaka Bijol gifted the Blues a penalty in the 56th minute, pushing Joao Pedro in the back with both hands to send the striker tumbling over. The Slovene’s appeals were pointless – it was stonewall. And off the back of his first-half hat-trick at Molineux – including two converted spot-kicks – there was no mistake from Palmer.
Chelsea were cruising, with Rosenior looking on course for an eighth win in 10. The new Blues boss has so far looked impermeable to an upset – but then the wheels came off.
Just as it seemed a clumsy challenge down one end had put the game out of sight for Leeds, a clumsy challenge down the other end offered the visitors a way back. Moises Caicedo’s tripping of Bogle gave referee John Brooks another simple decision to make, and Lukas Nmecha – deputising for Calvert-Lewin – sent Robert Sanchez the wrong way.
Six minutes later, things weren’t so black and white for the referee. Noah Okafor tucked into an open net after a calamitous mix-up between Sanchez and Josh Acheampong, who failed to clear the ball after Bogle had forced himself into the box. It seemed, however, that Chelsea’s sinners would get a reprieve, with replays showing the ball to have touched Bogle’s arm in the build-up.
A delay ensued – not as long as we’ve seen in the recent past, but one significant enough for home fans to believe a jog to the monitor was imminent. But that didn’t come; the goal was given. Leeds were resurrected, Chelsea crestfallen.
Farke’s side still had a quarter of an hour to survive as Chelsea upped the ante, but there was a sense that after surrendering total control of the contest, it just wouldn’t fall for the hosts.
Joao Pedro was nearly the hero as his late header crashed off the bar, but it’s Palmer who will have sleepless nights after skying a last-gasp chance with the goal gaping from a couple of yards out. Caicedo, who must have thought he’d set up a late winner when squaring it across the six-yard box, could not quite believe his talisman hadn’t scored as he looked lifelessly into the Matthew Harding Stand.
Palmer was crouched, dejected, before the full-time whistle even went, with Leeds winding down the final seconds of the clock. For Farke’s side, it’s another point towards survival.
Champions League qualification remains paramount for the Blues and this result on its own will not harm them too much, with sixth-placed Liverpool going into the matchweek four points adrift. But as we saw at the tail-end of 2025, things can snowball and fast. Just ask Maresca.
