Leeds hold Chelsea to scoreless draw
Sports Desk, Mar 13 (efe-epa).- Chelsea on Saturday left Leeds with a bittersweet draw, settling for a point but extending their unbeaten run to 12 games ahead of their Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid.
Heading into a theoretically winnable game against a rival that has lost five of their last six games, coach Thomas Tuchel introduced six changes into the Blues’ starting lineup against the Yorkshire team.
The visitors took the initiative and created scoring chances, but they were far from dominating the game.
Chelsea’s midfielder Kai Havertz, forward Christian Pulisic and defender Ben Chilwell squandered close chances.
The Blues’ French goalkeeper Edouard Mendy produced a nice save in the early stages of the second half when he managed to thwart an effort by Leeds forward Raphinha.
Brazilian-born Spanish foward Rodrigo Moreno missed a chance to give Leeds the lead, only for coach Marcelo Bielsa to replace him in the 79th minutes, 43 minutes after being sent onto the field to slot in for an injured Patrick Bamford.
Tuchel shuffled his cards and inserted German forward Timo Werner to boost their attacking line with 21 minutes to go before the added time.
Their best efforts, however, were not enough to get past young French goalkeeper Illan Meslier as the scoreless deadlock held until the end of the game.
With the draw, Chelsea hold the fourth spot with 51 points, only three ahead of West Ham, who have two matches in hand, including Sunday’s away game against Manchester United. Leeds are 11th with 36 points.
The draw came a few days before Chelsea’ Champions League last-16 second leg against Atletico Madrid. The English team has a cushion of 1-0 first leg lead. EFE-EPA
