Graham Potter’s Chelsea turned their wretched run of form around in a convincing 1-0 win at home to Leeds. Wesley Fofana produced a man-of-the-match performance and scored his first goal for the club to end Chelsea’s run of three defeats in a row.
CHE: Kepa; Badiashile, Koulibaly, W. Fofana; Chilwell, Kovacic, Fernandez, Loftus-Cheek; Felix, Havertz, Sterling
LEE: Meslier; Firpo, Wober, Koch, Ayling; McKennie, Adams; Harrison, Aaronson, Summerville; Rutter
The home side started the game brightly, with a clear shift in mindset from a dismal defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur. Graham Potter’s side came out at Stamford Bridge with much more intent, a high press and much more fluidity in attack.
An early chance fell to Kai Havertz, who was put through one on one but failed to get the first foal after a good stop from Illan Meslier. Joao Felix came the closest to opening the scoring in the first half, after some sharp build up play that saw Raheem Sterling cut the ball back to the edge of the box where the Portuguese star struck the ball beautifully – only to see his effort crash against the woodwork.
Leeds grew into the game with more confidence as the first half went on but failed to create any meaningful chances. At half-time, boos were heard around Stamford Bridge as the same issue of chances being created but struggling to find the back of the net was apparent again.
Heading into the second half, tensions were high but Chelsea players were back out early and ready for the start of an important 45 minutes. The home team again started quickly, with Raheem Sterling’s effort flying over the bar – a chance that he should have hit the target with.
The breakthrough finally came for Chelsea in the 53rd minute., as a Ben Chilwell corner found Wesley Fofana who towered above the defence and fired his header into the back of the net – cue an eruption of emotion at the bridge as Chelsea celebrate their first goal since the 11th February.
After the goal, Leeds looked the more dangerous of the two sides, as the away side found themselves in dangerous positions – though they lacked any clear opportunities. Chelsea’s backline stood firm and handled Leeds’ few attacking threats well. The Blues gained a first clean sheet since the home draw to Fulham on the 4th February, in a game that marked Chelsea’s first win in seven.
Relief was clear to see on Graham Potter’s face after his side gained an important three points – but the picture is a little different for Leeds, who sit 17th in the league table. They’re level on points with Everton, and they’ll certainly face a scrap for survival.
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