The Leeds United Chelsea penalty awarded midway through the second half at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night is the moment this Carabao Cup tie turned. Daniel Farke’s side were 2-0 up and cruising. Twelve minutes later they were losing. By full time they had shipped six and were out of the competition, beaten 6-3 in a nine-goal third-round tie that nobody at Elland Road will want to watch back.
The Leeds United Chelsea penalty that flipped the tie
Leeds had been excellent. Tarik Muharemovic rose at the back post to head in Harry Wilson’s second inswinging corner in quick succession, and within three minutes of the restart Brenden Aaronson had turned in an Ethan Ampadu cross to make it 2-0. Farke had made eight changes, handing debuts to goalkeeper Michael Zetterer and loan left-back Melvin Bard, and the rotation looked inspired.
Then referee Jarred Gillett pointed to the spot for a challenge by Daniel James. The accounts differ on the detail — the Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg writes that Pep Chavarria “made the most of slight contact” from the Wales winger, while the Yorkshire Evening Post recorded the foul as being on Pedro Neto. Either way, Cole Palmer tucked away the spot-kick and the tie’s whole character changed.
Four goals in 12 minutes
Palmer, who had come off the bench, added a second with a curled finish after slipping away from Sean Longstaff far too easily. Neto completed the turnaround for 3-2 when Chelsea pounced on a loose ball in midfield, and Danny Welbeck made it 4-2 soon after. The Guardian counted four Chelsea goals in 12 minutes.
To their credit, the Whites did not fold entirely. Substitutes Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin combined for the striker to pull one back at 4-3. But Morgan Rogers crossed for Barco to finish at the back post, and Welbeck grabbed his second deep into stoppage time to complete the 6-3 scoreline. You can read our full report on the 6-3 defeat here.
Alonso takes the blame for a game he nearly lost
It should not be forgotten how close Chelsea came to a genuine embarrassment. Xabi Alonso made nine changes of his own, threw a 16-year-old debutant in Reggie Watson into midfield, and was forced into a quadruple substitution at half-time to rescue it.
“I take responsibility,” Alonso said afterwards. “No player is to blame. It’s the decisions we took. When you don’t have this time to work with them, it’s difficult to compete at this level.”
What it means for Farke’s Leeds
This was Leeds’ first defeat of the season, ending an unbeaten run of four competitive games that included a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest, a 2-0 EFL Cup victory at the same ground, and draws with Brentford and Brighton. Five Premier League points from three games remains a solid platform, and Farke will argue that the league is where this squad’s season is decided.
The worry is the manner of it. In the YEP’s player ratings, Jaka Bijol was marked down to a 5 for being caught out of position and for frustrating Farke in possession, while Muharemovic took a 7 for his goal and his passing out from the back. Zetterer and James Justin were each given a 6 on their night’s work. A defence that had conceded twice in four games conceded six in one.
There is a positive buried in it. Bard and Zetterer now have their first Leeds minutes in the bank, and eight players who started at Brighton were spared a hard midweek. But Farke has a dressing room to pick up before Crystal Palace visit Elland Road, and a 12-minute spell at Stamford Bridge to explain.
