Chelsea 3-1 Leeds: Olivier Giroud, Kurt Zouma and Christian Pulisic complete the Blues comeback | Football news

Chelsea celebrated the return of Stamford Bridge fans with an entertaining and well-deserved 3-1 comeback over Leeds United, putting them at the top of the Premier League table.

For the first time since March, Chelsea fans were in the stands Saturday night following the easing of coronavirus restrictions, though the 2,000 fans were almost immediately silenced by former striker Patrick Bamford and his impressive start in just four. minutes.

Olivier Giroud, who made his first Premier League start to the season after scoring four for Sevilla in the Champions League on Wednesday, put the Blues level at 27 minutes, however, returning home a brilliant cross from Reece. James, before Kurt Zouma’s header completed the change.

Leeds pushed for a late draw, but Timo Werner slipped away on the right and passed Christian Pulisic to put in third three minutes after injury time, sparking wild celebrations in the stands and on the Chelsea bench.

It was a sweet win for Blues manager Frank Lampard over his Leeds counterpart Marcelo Bielsa after his fight with Spygate two seasons ago, and it was also a win to savor for the fans in attendance, with the home team on the move. ahead of Tottenham and Liverpool, who will play Arsenal and Wolves respectively on Sunday, while Leeds drop to 13th.

How Chelsea won in front of their fans

Local fans, spread across the lower levels of the Shed End and West Stand and back at Stamford Bridge for the first time in almost exactly nine months since the 4-0 win over Everton on March 8, were out of their seats at one minute when Illan Meslier turned back a shot from Hakim Ziyech near the post and Giroud headed the resulting corner into the side net.

But Bamford, who signed for Chelsea when he was 18 in 2012 but spent most of his five years with the club on loan, scored with just four minutes left.

The Leeds forward rushed to Kalvin Phillips’ perfect pass, outwitted Edouard Mendy and into the net unguarded for his eighth Premier League goal of the season, seven of which have come from home.

Chelsea should have leveled just five minutes later, but Werner somehow managed to prevent Giroud’s header from going through the back post and then shooting himself towards the bar.

That looked like it could be a costly mistake as Leeds, who lost Robin Koch early on to injury, continued to threaten at halftime, with Bamford firing Jack Harrison’s cutout before Ezgjan Alioski hit the post after an off flag. game against Luke Ayling.

But Chelsea tied just before half an hour when Giroud converted a superb low cross from Reece James for his 13th goal in his last 13 Chelsea appearances in all competitions to make up for Frank Lampard’s faith in him after his weeknight heroics. in the Champions League.

Ziyech was forced out with what appeared to be a hamstring injury immediately after the tie and was replaced by Christian Pulisic, who failed moments after entering. And the rhythm of the game did not give way in the second half.

Kai Havertz headed a James free kick narrowly, before Thiago Silva made a major block when Raphinha encountered a Mateusz Klich corner kick on the volley, before the winger fired the rebound.

Werner was turned away twice by clever saves by Meslier before Chelsea finally got ahead, with Zouma turning away from Leeds defenders to head hard into Mason Mount’s corner for his fourth goal of the campaign.

Another brilliant block from Meslier denied Werner once again and Giroud blew a free header from the next corner as Chelsea pushed for a third, but there was debate on the other end when substitute Ian Poveda fired straight at Mendy after looking caught by Ben Chilwell. boot in the box. The Leeds man did not come down and nothing was given.

Bielsa’s men put pressure on Chelsea in the final stages, but when Werner was released he set up Pulisic to seal him off and send the Blues to the top of the Premier League and their fans home happy.

Man of the match – Olivier Giroud

Patrice Evra from Sky Sports:

“People will not appreciate Olivier Giroud until I play with him. It is a pleasure to play with him because he helps the team a lot. I know they sometimes criticize him for not scoring all the time, but he also scores some incredible goals.

“He deserved to play. He deserved to start because for me, in front of the other Chelsea strikers, he is the most complete. He is the forward who will help the team the most. He is scoring goals and I am very happy for him.

“He deserves more credit.”

What the managers said …

4:01

Frank Lampard, Chelsea boss: “We started brilliantly in the first few minutes, but then they scored, so that’s an immediate test. We created so many chances, we stayed positive and we defended well. We had to accept that they would probably create chances, but I thought we dominated the game in terms of action. in both pits, I thought we deserved the win, although I was a bit nervous until the end.

“We are at the beginning of December and there is a long way to go. I don’t know if this season we reach the heights we want. But we are moving in the right direction. I am very happy. Our job is not to get caught in the chat. We have to keep your feet on the ground. There’s a long, long way to go. By the time we’re in a patch. “

2:51

Marcelo Bielsa, Leeds boss: “I thought the result was fair. We could not neutralize them in this aspect (set pieces) and in the end it was an important factor in their victory. I cannot give you an opinion on [the Poveda incident] because I didn’t see the attack clearly. Chelsea? They are one of the important teams in the Premier League. “

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• Chelsea have finished a day at the top of the Premier League table for the first time since September 2018.
• Chelsea have beaten Leeds in what is their first league match since May 2004, while it is their third consecutive win against them in all competitions.
• Leeds have lost four consecutive away league games to Chelsea for the first time since August 1937.
• Chelsea have won four of their last five Premier League matches (D1); in fact, no current Premier League team is on a more unbeaten streak than the Blues (9 – G5 D4).
• Leeds have lost three of their last five Premier League matches (G1 D1), conceding three or more goals in all three defeats.
• Leeds faced 23 shots in this game, their highest set in a Premier League game this season (also 23 against Man City), while Chelsea’s 10 shots on target were the most the Whites have faced in so far this season.
• Leeds have conceded five set-piece goals (excluding penalties) in the Premier League this season, only Leicester have conceded more in such situations (6).
• Oliver Giroud has become the first Chelsea player to score in six consecutive Premier League starts since Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in October 2001. While at 34 years and 66 days, he is the oldest player to score in six. consecutive starts in the Premier League.
• Christian Pulisic became the 13th different player to score for Chelsea in the Premier League this season – the Blues have had at least four more than any other team in the competition in 2020-21 (excluding own goals).
• Patrick Bamford has scored seven of his eight Premier League goals away from home this season (88%), no player has scored more on the road in the competition (Son Heung-Min and Jamie Vardy also seven).

Whats Next?

Chelsea host Krasnodar in the Champions League on Tuesday before traveling to Everton next Saturday for the 8pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports Premier League. Leeds welcomes West Ham for Friday Night Football at Sky Sports Premier League, at 8pm.