Chelsea vs. Leeds score: Blues win on controversial late penalty but continue to underwhelm during rough patch

Chelsea have managed to keep the pressure on league leaders Manchester City and second-place Liverpool with a fortunate 3-2 win over Leeds at Stamford Bridge, but it was once again another concerning performance from Thomas Tuchel’s side. The Blues have managed to win just two of their last five games in all competitions and needed two penalty kicks, including one in injury time, to beat a Leeds team that has won just three of its 16 games this season. 

While the Blues did produce 16 shots and an xG of 2.78 in the game, but the lion’s share came from their penalties, only 1.20 came outside of their two spot kicks, and they were bailed out by a foul on Antonio Rudiger in the box in the dying moments, with Jorginho converting his second penalty of the game. But beyond the questionable attacking performance, issues remain on the defensive side. The team is looking to find stability with unsettled center back Andreas Christensen’s future up in the air and the Dane was dropped by manager Thomas Tuchel as the player’s expiring contract has failed to yield an extension, putting his long-term future with the team in doubt. 

Tuchel opted for a backline of 32-year-old Cesar Azpilicueta, 37-year-old Thiago Silva and another player whose future remains up in the air in Rudiger. While still missing N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic in the middle, Chelsea conceded for the fifth game in the row, allowing multiple goals in each of their last three games. In the eight games prior to this streak of conceding, the Blues had only conceded once in 720 minutes of play. 

Their possession numbers have gone down considerably to 57 percent in their last three games from the 65 percent their averaged during their nine-game unbeaten streak that ended in early December with a loss to West Ham. 

With tackling percentage down, which can be expected without key pieces, the lack of possession is simply allowing other teams more chances to do damage. For the eight games from Oct. 10 to Nov. 28, Chelsea did not allow an xG of over 1.0. In fact, 0.82 against Burnley on November was the highest.  But in their last four games, they’ve allow an xG of over 1.0 in each match, with Zenit registering a 2.64 midweek and Leeds achieving 1.86 on Saturday. 

Tuchel will hope these are simply signs of weathering the storm minus key pieces, but without those key pieces, Chelsea have shown that they will need lady luck on their side more often than not in pursuit of their goals. Whether that results in bolstering their defense in January remains to be seen, but it’s clear something will need to change for them to reach some sort of stability after their roughest patch of the season defensively.