Thomas Tuchel opens on the heated full-time brawl as Chelsea beat Leeds United
The Premier League encounter between Chelsea and Leeds United continued even after full-time as the two sides were involved in a heated brawl. The Blues won 3-2 on the night as Jorginho scored a late winner to help them to the three points.
Coming into this match, the hosts were in a bit of a slump after they lost against West Ham United in the previous matchday and dropped to third in the table. They were also held to a draw in the Champions League by Zenit Saint Petersburg, surrendering their top spot in the group to Juventus.
Raphinha opened the scoring for Leeds after they were awarded a penalty for a foul made by Marcos Alonso. The latter clumsily challenged for a ball in the box but missed it and took out Daniel James in the process. He however made amends for it by assisting Mason Mount’s leveller.
A penalty from Jorginho put the home side ahead before substitute Joe Gelhardt restored parity in the 83rd minute. There was much drama still to come as Chelsea were awarded a penalty in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Jorfginho calmly stepped up to drive the ball home to wild scenes at Stamford Bridge.
Heated battleground
Emotions boiled over and there was a heated brawl between the two sides. Both sets of players had to be separated for the feeling of animosity to cool down. Both teams could face some fines for the act following the whistle.
Speaking in the post-match presser (h/t Football.London), Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel gave his thoughts on the clash that happened between both clubs after the full-time whistle.
I did not see actually in detail what was going on. I can understand the frustration because we’ve all been in this situation when you think you have a point and then it slips away. So you get angry and frustrated. So things can get headed up. If you have Toni you have Toni. If you have him as the aggressive leader on the pitch you can’t have him not involved if there are teammates to defend on the pitch.
The Blues boss does not have the full picture but believes that frustration has different ways of manifesting itself. He also praised Antonio Rudiger who was one of the Chelsea players who were central for the whole altercation.
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With Manchester City and Liverpool also winning their games, it was imperative that Chelsea did their part. We might have gotten a tad fortunate but we will take the wins where we can.
Chelsea will face Everton next in the league and would need to do better than what they have shown today. A former Blues boss, Rafael Benitez could aim to play spoilsport on the night.