It turns out Chelsea’s unfortunate habit of squandering winning positions did not leave with Enzo Maresca. They remain infuriatingly inconsistent and were at their careless worst against a defiant Leeds United, who took another step towards staying up by fighting back from 2-0 down to leave Stamford Bridge with a gritty point. Liam Rosenior was left wondering why the focus was not on Cole Palmer collecting his first assist in the Premier League this season.
Chelsea’s new head coach was on his way to an eighth win in his first 10 games in charge. Instead he watched in disbelief as his team fell apart, gifting Lukas Nmecha a penalty before more dreadful defending allowed Noah Okafor to haul Daniel Farke’s Leeds level.
Defeat at Elland Road in December marked the beginning of the end for Maresca. The Italian’s swift, brutal demise represented opportunity for Rosenior. A new era was quickly under way and, while Rosenior has been dealt a kind hand by the fixture list, it is undeniable that there have been encouraging signs since his arrival last month.
The tests keep coming. Leeds posed complications with an unashamedly cautious set-up. The visitors had six defenders in their team, lined up with five at the back and made life difficult for Chelsea by trying to turn the game into a physical scrap from the start.
