Cole Palmer missed a goal in stoppage time after Chelsea threw away a two-goal lead with a 2-2 draw against Leeds United as Liam Rosenior’s side missed out on a chance to move into fourth place in the Premier League.
Stamford Bridge was in an unbelievable state when Palmer skied from close range to the point of death. He could and should have won after Leeds came back from a seemingly impossible position. This was a missed opportunity for Chelsea.
“He’s been in this position and he’s scored 999 times out of 1,000,” Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior said of Palmer. “It was just a one-in-a-thousand moment.”
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Paul Merson is stunned as Cole Palmer misses from 2 yards out… His expected goal value on that chance was 0.87
Chelsea will have to worry about losing their lead. Palmer scored the first goal of the first half on a chip from Joao Pedro, then scored from the spot just before the hour to make it 2-0. They were cruising and Leeds was all over the place.
Chelsea, who were heading for their fifth consecutive league win under manager Rosenior, succumbed with a disappointing two goals conceded in six minutes of the second half. Lucas Nmeka’s penalty and substitute Noah Okafor’s equalizer were Leeds’ only shots on target.
Daniel Falquez’s side are without Chelsea’s top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin due to illness, but thanks to Manchester United’s late 1-1 draw with West Ham, they are above Tottenham in 15th place and remain six points clear of the drop zone.
Benjamin Sesco’s last-gasp goal against West Ham left Chelsea in fifth place on what can only be described as a frustrating night for Rosenior, who remain unbeaten after five league games. However, there is still much work to be done.
Should Leeds’ goal have been saved?
There was no doubt in referee Rob Jones’ decision to award the spot-kick when Xhaka Buyol inexplicably pushed Joao Pedro to score Chelsea’s second goal.
It was a carbon copy of the penalty Chelsea won against Wolves on Saturday. Palmer finished easily, as he had twice at Molineux, sending Karl Darlow the wrong way.
However, both of Leeds’ goals were due to refereeing decisions that were questioned by former Premier League referee Mike Dean.
Okafor’s equalizing goal in the 73rd minute was allowed to stand despite the ball clearly hitting Jayden Bogle’s elbow during the build-up. VAR was unable to intervene after the referee did not award a free kick as Bogle’s intervention did not directly result in a goal.
“I hit Bogle’s elbow,” Dean said on the soccer special. “I’m surprised it wasn’t rejected. I can only assume they think it’s a coincidence.”
Chelsea had more than enough chances to deal with the situation, but failed to clear a promising first ball over goal and Okafor darted out to smash home the equalizer, sending the away fans into a frenzy.
Nmeka had earlier snatched a goal back for Leeds with a penalty won when Bogle went down following a challenge from Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo, which Dean deemed too lenient.
“That seemed a little harsh,” Dean said. “Bogle is like kicking Caicedo in the back.”
Rosenior furious over Leeds’ equalizer
Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior told TNT Sports about Leeds’ equalizer:
“That’s when I did that (I think the ball touched Bogle’s arm). If there was contact, it shouldn’t be allowed.”
“Rules are rules. My understanding is that if there’s a handball leading up to the goal, it shouldn’t stand. So if they’re saying it wasn’t intentional, someone please explain the rules to me. They need to help the referees.”
“When you say that, which officials say was unintentional, it just makes me even more angry. If they made that decision, it’s unacceptable.”
Why was Leeds’ equalizer allowed?
Premier League rules state that a handball goal can only be scored if an attack leads directly to a goal, or if a goal is scored immediately after an attack.
Bogle’s handball did not directly result in a goal and Chelsea had a chance to clear the ball before Okafor scored. The only way Bogle could have been penalized for that offense was if Jones had given him a foul for handball at the time.
Falke: Great result under the circumstances
Leeds manager Daniel Farke told TNT Sports:
“I’m very proud. It was a difficult game for us. We had to make changes to our back five.
“We lost by two points, so we handed out presents. But the players showed the mentality to come back and made us proud.”
“We fought hard to get this point and it’s well deserved.
“We held out for the last five minutes, maybe we were a little bit lucky, but it’s a great result in the circumstances.”
