“Very Poor Night”: Maresca blasts Chelsea after shock 3–1 defeat to Leeds

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has blasted his players after their Premier League title charge suffered a major dent in a shock 3–1 defeat to struggling Leeds United on Wednesday night.

The Blues were unrecognisable at Elland Road, delivering what Maresca described as a “very poor night” as Leeds, who had lost their previous four matches, punished Chelsea’s sluggish first-half display with goals from Jaka Bijol and Ao Tanaka.

Pedro Neto’s second-half strike briefly injected hope, but Chelsea’s misery was sealed when Dominic Calvert-Lewin pounced on a defensive calamity to restore Leeds’ two-goal cushion late on.

The defeat, Chelsea’s first in eight matches across all competitions, leaves them nine points adrift of league leaders Arsenal and delivers a heavy blow to their ambitions of mounting a serious title challenge.

“Nobody at their best level” — Maresca fumes

Speaking after the match, a visibly frustrated Maresca said his side were second-best in every department.

“There was nobody at their best level. They were better than us in all aspects, they deserved to win,” the Italian said.

“A very poor night. We performed so well against Arsenal and Barcelona, but it doesn’t mean we are going to always perform the same way. The only thing we can do is try to understand what we did and then reset.”

Chelsea were without midfield enforcer Moisés Caicedo, who missed the match following his red card in Sunday’s tense 1–1 draw with Arsenal. Maresca opted to rest Pedro Neto, Reece James and Wesley Fofana in an attempt to freshen the squad, but the Blues still looked physically and mentally drained from their weekend exertions.

Leeds punish weary Chelsea

Leeds opened the scoring inside six minutes when Anton Stach’s corner found Bijol, who rose above Liam Delap to power a header past Robert Sánchez. Chelsea’s defending remained disjointed, with Pascal Struijk almost doubling the lead from another corner.

Tanaka made it 2–0 in the 43rd minute with a stunning drive from outside the box — a strike that brutally exposed Chelsea’s lethargy.

Chelsea, who have never won a Premier League away match after trailing by two or more goals at half-time, hoped to break the curse when Neto came off the bench to finish Jamie Gittens’ cross early in the second half.

The Blues nearly levelled moments later when Alejandro Garnacho’s burst into the box set up Cole Palmer — making his return after two months out — but the Englishman’s effort whistled inches wide.

Comedy of errors ends Chelsea’s comeback hopes

Any hopes of a revival evaporated in the 72nd minute after a disastrous mistake inside Chelsea’s penalty area. Malo Gusto’s stray pass put Tosin Adarabioyo under pressure, prompting a panicked back-pass that was intercepted by Noah Okafor.

Sánchez blocked the initial effort, but Calvert-Lewin reacted quickest to tap into an empty net as Maresca watched on in disbelief.

Maresca admitted the absence of Caicedo — and the overall fatigue in the squad — played a major role in the collapse.

“We missed Moises tonight and will miss him in the next games. He is an important player for any team,” he said.

With the defeat leaving Chelsea drifting further behind in the title race, Maresca urged his players to refocus quickly, warning that the Premier League leaves no room for complacency.