Deja vu as red mist leaves chaotic Leeds peering at peril
Off you come: Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch had to convince Raphinha to leave the field at Elland Road having played the Brazilian star out of position.
FOR Leeds United it was deja vu, all over again. Unable to defend, unable to keep a full complement of players on the field and on this evidence, unable to maintain their place in the Premier League.
For Luke Ayling at the Emirates Stadium, read Daniel James at Elland Road, with an equally brainless challenge which left his side at a numerical disadvantage for more than two-thirds of a non-contest in which they were already struggling to keep their heads above water.
We won't even start to ask why Leeds' most potent attacking threat Raphinha was asked to operate at wing-back, a de facto right-back given Chelsea's dominance, from the outset until Jesse Marsch belatedly saw the error of his ways with his side a goal and a player down.
And while we're at it, add throwing in Lewis Bate for a Premier League debut at this juncture of the season to a series of unfathomable decisions from the increasingly beleaguered American. The untried teenage midfielder was taken off early in the second half for his own good and let's hope the psychological damage suffered by the 19-year-old former Stamford Bridge trainee isn't lasting.
A third consecutive defeat leaves Leeds in the relegation zone with two games, at home to Brighton on Sunday and at Brentford on the final day of the season, to extend their return to the top flight beyond two seasons but it will take plenty of Marsch's famed - or derided depending on your viewpoint - motivational quotes to lift a side which look utterly bereft of hope at this stage.
Chelsea needed little encouragement to take full advantage to strengthen their grip on third place to leave them a point away from securing a return to the Champions League next season as they enjoyed a testimonial-paced warm-up to Saturday's FA Cup final.
Having fallen two goals behind in the blink of an eye en route to defeat at Arsenal on Sunday, Leeds were again quickly into self-harm mode in a shambolic start which saw them fortunate not to ship half a dozen goals before the interval.
Somehow, Chelsea found the net just once in a first-half of total dominance. It arrived in just the fourth minute and was an 11th in the league this season for Mason Mount, who received the ball on halfway via four slick passes from the visitors' area.
Allowed time and space to turn and feed Reece James, the midfielder continued his forward run to accept an inviting cut-back from the England defender which he steered into the top corner from 18 yards.
How it failed to herald an avalanche of goals remains a minor mystery. Romelu Lukaku could have had a hat-trick before the break, as he was inches was inches from doubling the advantage from Mount's inviting low cross before his deft lob over Illan Meslier was correctly ruled out for offside. A glancing header then left the Leeds keeper rooted to the spot as it sped inches wide.
Mount had another goal-bound effort inadvertently deflected to safety after more defensive hesitancy but the already slim-looking threat of the wasted opportunities opening the door to a Leeds comeback was further undermined by James' ugly shin-high challenge on Mateo Kovacic in the 24th minute.
The Croatian midfielder hobbled off soon afterwards and will hope to recover in time for the Wembley meeting with Liverpool this weekend. Leeds claimed the Welshman won the ball, which he may well have done, but they conveniently ignored the leg-breaking potential of an utterly reckless challenge.
Predictably, the one-way traffic continued after the resumption as the visitors continued to beat a path to Meslier's goal. Lukaku headed over but the result-confirming second goal arrived 10 minutes into the second half.
James was again at the heart of the move as Christian Pulisic calmly passed his 13th goal of the campaign into the bottom corner from the edge of the area after the ubiquitous Mount flicked the ball into the path of the unmarked American.
Lukaku scored the third with seven minutes remaining, biding his time to thrash the ball home from close range after another gift from the hosts to seal a first league double over these opponents in 33 years.
The best Leeds could muster in response were tame headers from Raphinha and Robin Koch which flew high and wide into the Kop. For Marsch's men, It was that kind of night, it was that kind of mismatch.
Meslier 4; Koch 4, Llorente 3, Cooper 3; Raphinha 3 (Gelhardt 78, 4), Bate 3 (Klich 59, 3), Phillips 4; Struijk 3; Rodrigo 3, Harrison 3 (Firpo 37, 3); James 0. Sent off: James. Booked: Phillips.
Mendy 7; Chalobah 7, Christensen 7, Rudiger 7; James 9 (Azpilicueta 78, 6), Jorginho 7, Kovacic 6 (Loftus-Cheek 30, 7), Alonso 7; Mount 9, Pulisic 8 (Ziyech 78, 6); Lukaku 8. Booked:
Anthony Taylor 7 Ends
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