Leeds United vs Chelsea. Premier League.
Elland RoadAttendance36,549.
Report and free match highlights as Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Romelu Lukaku secure a 3-0 win for Chelsea; Leeds had Daniel James sent off in the first half; Jesse Marsch's side remain 18th in the Premier League table
Thursday 12 May 2022 06:39, UK
Chelsea pushed 10-man Leeds further into the relegation mire as goals from Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Romelu Lukaku secured a 3-0 win for Thomas Tuchel's men at Elland Road.
Leeds needed to avoid defeat in order to move out of the drop zone but, as in their 2-1 defeat by Arsenal on Sunday, they endured a nightmare start to the game and could not recover.
Mount curled home a superb opener after only four minutes and Leeds then had Daniel James sent off midway through the first half for a reckless tackle on Mateo Kovacic, who was unable to continue and is now an injury doubt for Saturday's FA Cup final.
It was deja-vu for Jesse Marsch's side, who lost Luke Ayling to a red card in similar circumstances having fallen behind at the Emirates Stadium, and their misery was compounded by precise finishes from Pulisic and Lukaku after the break as Chelsea strengthened their grip on third place and warmed up for Saturday's Wembley showdown against Liverpool in style.
Leeds, meanwhile, also lost Jack Harrison to injury and must now prepare for their remaining Premier League games, against Brighton and Brentford, without the suspended James as well as Ayling.
Elland Road was a cauldron of noise as the players emerged from the tunnel ahead of kick-off but the home supporters were swiftly silenced when Mount beat Illan Meslier with a brilliant, first-time finish following a slick Chelsea move.
It was a familiar feeling for Leeds following Eddie Nketiah's instant opener at the Emirates on Sunday and their evening went from bad to worse when James lunged in on Kovacic in midfield, prompting referee Anthony Taylor to immediately brandish the red card.
Leeds protested the decision, arguing James had won the ball, but the winger's challenge was dangerous, his studs landing on Kovacic's ankle, and VAR rightly upheld the decision before the Croat had to be replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Chelsea had opportunities to extend their lead either side of the red card, with Diego Llorente clearing a Mount effort off the line and Lukaku heading narrowly wide from a James cross.
But they had to wait until the second period to make the game safe. Lukaku, reinvigorated after his double in Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Wolves at the weekend, headed over shortly after half-time but the second goal arrived soon afterwards.
The outstanding Mount was involved again, finding Pulisic with a deft flick, and the USA international then dispatched a low finish into the bottom corner, leaving Meslier with no chance.
Lukaku continued to threaten as Chelsea dominated the remainder of the game and, following a string of chances, including one low effort which bounced inches wide, he finally found the net with a high finish after delaying his shot from Hakim Ziyech's pass.
Leeds, hamstrung by an early red card for a second consecutive game, mustered little in response, failing to even register a shot on target, and the defeat, their third in a row, leaving them in a perilous position heading into their final two games.
For Chelsea, the picture looks more positive ahead of Saturday's FA Cup final as they opened up a four-point gap on fourth-placed Arsenal and went eight clear of fifth-placed Tottenham, all but confirming their place in next season's Champions League.
Alan Smith described Mason Mount's performance as "poetry in motion" on co-commentary. "He's such a classy player and he's young enough to get better," added the Sky Sports pundit.
That thought should be a tantalising one to Chelsea supporters. Mount's goal was beautifully taken and the flick for Pulisic's second was sublime too. He has now reached double figures for both goals and assists in the Premier League this season.
He is only the fifth Chelsea player to achieve that feat after Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard. It is esteemed company but Mount is there on merit.
He was outstanding at Elland Road - and not just because of his role in the first two goals. The 23-year-old was involved in nearly all of Chelsea's best attacking moments and, even with 11 men on the field, Leeds simply could not live with him.
Leeds boss Jesse Marsch told Sky Sports: "It was similar to the Arsenal match, where we don't really even give ourselves a chance to get going, but the guys fought hard, they never stopped, they ran, tried to play and competed for each other.
"Obviously, we're disappointed, but right now, we can't feel sorry for ourselves. If we get stuck thinking negative things and worrying about why things happened or what happened, then we won't prepare ourselves for Sunday, so that has to be our total focus."
On James' red card, he added: "I think he was aggressive and thought he could win a ball in the middle there, but wound up being a bit over-zealous.
"Now we lose Dan for the rest of the season, so it obviously hurts but that's where we are now and we have to stick together and be ready for the next challenge."
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel told Sky Sports: "We needed a performance like that and it was the foundation for the result. We deserved to win and that's the best message because it's a tough place to play.
"We were excellent right from the start and kept the focus and intensity high when we were one man up and that's why we deserved to win.
"We talked and we cleared the air after that late equaliser from Wolverhampton. We knew we had brought ourselves into pressure, results-wise, and we knew what was waiting, but we also had a lot of reason to trust ourselves and we were at our very best level in these circumstances.
"The players delivered what we demanded of them so full credit to them."
Leeds are back in Premier League action on Sunday afternoon as they welcome Brighton to Elland Road for a 2pm kick-off.
Chelsea, meanwhile, will seek to claim silverware when they take on Liverpool in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday before resuming their Premier League campaign at home to Leicester on Thursday May 18.
May 15 - Brighton (h) Premier League
May 22 - Brentford (a) Premier League
May 14 - Liverpool (Wembley) FA Cup final
May 19 - Leicester (h) Premier League
May 22 - Watford (h) Premier League
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