A howler from Edouard Mendy helped Leeds United stun Chelsea as the hosts seized a 3-0 victory in the Premier League at Elland Road.
The Blues goalkeeper put his side on the back foot when he allowed Brenden Aaronson to dispossess him inside his six-yard area midway through the first half for a simple tap in.
Further goals for Rodrigo – who nabbed his fourth of the season – and Jack Harrison cemented a famous win for Jesse Marsch's men, who claimed a first triumph over their London rivals for almost two decades.
Thomas Tuchel – in the dugout despite his red card in last week's London derby draw with Tottenham – will be left to wonder just how his side were so expertly unravelled under sunny skies in West Yorkshire.
Amid a high-energy start that saw the hosts hassle their visitors on and off the ball, Raheem Sterling thought he had curled an opener in just shy of the quarter-hour mark, only for the assistant referee's flag to rule him offside.
That disallowed finish would come back to bite the Blues just beyond the half-hour when Mendy's decision to dally with a backpass saw him pay dearly as Aaronson darted in to rob the Senegal international and roll the ball into the net.
Just four minutes later, Leeds had Elland Road rocking further as they doubled their tally with Rodrigo's header, the Spaniard powering home from Jack Harrison's free-kick after Sterling had committed a foul just outside the box.
Chelsea resisted changes, and briefly it appeared as if Tuchel's men could force a comeback, but when Harrison finished off Rodrigo's knockdown with a quarter of the game to go, the result was sealed.
It was to get worse for the visitors, who ended the match a man down after Kalidou Koulibaly was shown a second yellow card for dragging down Joe Gelhardt, and Chelsea ultimately skulked from the field in the shadow of a famous Leeds win.
What does it mean? Leeds earn first win over Blues in almost two decades
The last time the Whites defeated Chelsea it was through goals from Jonathan Woodgate and a 16-year-old James Milner, when they emerged as 2-0 victors in December 2002.
A long absence from the top-flight has restricted the number of encounters between the two, of course, but for Leeds, this result – and the manner in which they achieved it – might rank as their best result since they returned to the Premier League.
Rodrigo continues remarkable run
Since his arrival in what had been a club-record deal from Valencia, it has been a somewhat frustrating two seasons for Rodrigo at Elland Road, with just 13 goals in 62 games before this term.
But he has started this new campaign like a man possessed, with four goals in the first three games, making him only the fourth player to achieve the feat in the top-flight for the club.
Koulibaly discipline deepens Chelsea woes
The late dismissal of Tuchel's big defensive purchase of the transfer window is a blow for the Blues, but hardly a surprising one.
Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Koulibaly has been sent off six times in Serie A and the Premier League combined, more than any other player in the top five European leagues.
Key Opta facts
- Tuchel took charge of his 60th Premier League match today; Chelsea conceded just 17 goals in their first 30 games under the German, but have shipped exactly twice as many in the last 30 (34).
- Chelsea found themselves behind at half time in a Premier League game for the first time since their final match of the 2020-21 season against Aston Villa (a 2-1 loss). They had gone 40 successive matches in the competition without trailing at the break before today.
- Aaronson's opener for Leeds was the first time an American player has scored under an American manager (Marsch) in Premier League history.
- Rodrigo became just the fourth Leeds player to score in their first three top-flight matches in a season, after Arthur Hydes in 1933-34, Mick Jones in 1968-69 and Patrick Bamford in 2020-21.
- Leeds pair Rodrigo and Harrison have combined for four Premier League goals this season, already more than any other duo for the club last term.
What comes next?
Leeds remain at home for an EFL Cup clash against Barnsley on Wednesday, while Chelsea host Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday.
Xavi commits U-turn and elects to stay at Barcelona
Barcelona head coach Xavi will continue in his role next season after an unexpected reversal of his decision to leave at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, according to widespread reports.
The former Barcelona midfielder announced in January that he would walk away from the job at the end of the current season, even though his contract was due to run until the end of the following term.
Xavi acknowledged the Barcelona role had taken its toll but reportedly changed his plans after a meeting with Blaugrana president Joan Laporta on Wednesday.
The 44-year-old was initially appointed as Barca coach in 2021 before leading the LaLiga giants to the top-flight title in the 2022-23 campaign.
Xavi's initial announcement of his intentions to depart Barcelona came after a tough period following defeats to Girona, Real Madrid and Athletic Club before revealing the news in the aftermath of a 5-3 loss to Villarreal.
The Blaugrana turned their fortunes around after that decision became public, though, going 13 games unbeaten across all competitions.
Unsurprisingly, that run encouraged Laporta, vice president Rafa Yuste and sporting director Deco to plead with Xavi to continue until the end of his agreed contract.
Though that undefeated streak ended with a 4-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain that dumped Barcelona out of the Champions League quarter-finals, Xavi has now agreed to stay in his role.
The league title is almost out of reach this term, however, as Real Madrid moved 11 points clear of second-placed Barca with Sunday's 3-2 Clasico victory.
Liverpool line up Feyenoord coach Slot as Klopp replacement
Arne Slot appears to be at the front of the queue to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager.
Klopp confirmed in January that he would be leaving the Reds at the end of the season.
Xabi Alonso, who has led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, was swiftly established as a leading candidate to take the helm at Anfield, where he starred as a player for the Reds between 2004 and 2009.
The 42-year-old, however, is staying put in Germany, and Liverpool's search for Klopp's successor has taken them to Feyenoord's door.
Slot has been previously linked to jobs in the Premier League. Leeds United wanted to appoint him last season before their relegation to the Championship, while he was targeted by Tottenham before they appointed Ange Postecoglou.
The Dutchman intimated when linked with Spurs: "A normal next step would be to go abroad and I've always said that the best league in the world is the Premier League."
Ideally, Liverpool will be aiming for a coach who can come close to replicating Klopp's style of play, and in particular has a flair for working with and developing young players.
Slot has enjoyed fantastic success in Rotterdam. He became Feyenoord head coach in December 2022, after leaving AZ, and went on to win the Eredivisie title in 2022-23, having reached the Europa League final in the previous season.
The 45-year-old has a 64.4 per cent win record from 146 games in charge, winning 94, drawing 29 and losing just 23.
His Feyenoord team have scored 329 goals, an average of 2.2 per match, conceding 147 in return. Slot's points per game is a hugely impressive 2.13.
Feyenoord are, though, set to relinquish their Eredivisie crown, as they trail leaders PSV by nine points. They have, however, won the KNVB Cup this term.
As there is no break clause in the Dutchman's contract, it has been reported that a compensation fee in the region of €10million (£8.5m) could prise him away from Feyenoord.
Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim is another coach who has been heavily linked with the Liverpool job, albeit he is reportedly in talks with West Ham.
Grant McCann hails ‘outstanding’ response as Doncaster close on play-off spot
Grant McCann was a proud man after Doncaster won 4-1 at Colchester to register a 10th straight victory and move into the play-off places.
Colchester took a ninth-minute lead through Jayden Fevrier, who converted Tom Hopper’s cross at the far post, but remain in relegation danger after Rovers’ emphatic comeback.
Luke Molyneux equalised after collecting Jamie Sterry’s short free-kick and scoring with a low 25-yard shot and Doncaster took a 22nd-minute lead through Harrison Biggins, who netted from close range from Molyneux’s delivery.
Tom Anderson netted a third in the 76th minute at the near post from Hakeeb Adelakun’s pass, and Joe Ironside sealed victory when he converted after Sam Hornby had tipped James Maxwell’s shot onto a post.
A point on the final day against Gillingham will seal a play-off spot regardless of results elsewhere and McCann said: “I’m really proud.
“Obviously conceding early wasn’t ideal for us but the response was outstanding.
“We scored two very good goals, the first one from Mols (Molyneux) and the second one was another very good goal and something we knew could help us in the game, Biggo’s (Biggins) runs from the centre circle in between the posts after good play by Mols.
“In the first half, we were a little bit edgy and it was a little bit even Steven in the game.
“But in the second half, we were really comfortable and scored another couple of really good goals.
“We always play for more goals; we never sit tight and take what we’ve got – that’s just the way we like to go about things.
“We came up against a team that’s obviously down the wrong end of the table and we knew it was going to be tough.”
Fevrier had Colchester on track to secure survival but they go into Saturday’s final game just three points above the drop zone, with their goal difference superior by four over Sutton.
Colchester boss Danny Cowley said: “It was a tough night for us.
“We have the ability to self-harm, to self-destruct, in a game where we let four terrible goals in.
“For 75 minutes, it was 2-1 and they’ve had three shots at goal, two from 30 yards, and somehow they’re winning the game.
“We were 2-1 down at half-time where we felt we shouldn’t have been, as we’d done a lot right.
“We were in total ascendency and they don’t even want to score any more goals, they want to hang onto what they’ve got and we gift them another two goals.
“I’ve just looked back at the goals and they’re very hard to defend.
“We actually played well box to box but you can’t say you’ve played well when we’ve conceded the goals that we have.
“It’s a damaging night and I’m really angry. We just did the basics so poorly.”
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