Chelsea were seen as dark horses for the Premier League title this season. However, their 3-1 defeat to Leeds United last night left the Blues nine points off the leaders, Arsenal.
Enzo Maresca's side had just had a great result against the Gunners, considering they had 10 men. Moises Caicedo's red card against Arsenal meant he was suspended for the match with Leeds. Reece James, who was Chelsea's standout player against the Gunners, was left on the bench. This was due to Maresca managing his injury-prone captain's game time.
The Blues had a completely different central midfield, which consisted of Enzo Fernandez and Andrey Santos, whilst Joao Pedro was the attacking midfielder. With the core of their side missing, Leeds were able to capitalize on this.
Daniel Farke is under pressure at Elland Road, and this result may have kept him in the job for at least a few more games. The win lifted Leeds above West Ham United and out of the relegation places. Given that Leeds are fighting for their lives, and their fixtures with Chelsea are always feisty, an upset was always on the cards.
Enzo Maresca was not in a good mood following the game
Maresca was quoted by Fabrizio Romano after the game saying, "Leeds were better than us in all aspects, they deserved to win the game. There is nothing we can take from this game. I hope we had a bad night because it's a game where you struggle to take anything from."
The Chelsea manager was honest and paid tribute to his opposition's performance. However, he does not appear to have the answers as to why his side failed to show up. Chelsea supporters will be feeling his pain, but will be looking to him to have the know-how about responding to this defeat.
Given the money invested in Chelsea's roster and their Club World Cup title, they should be challenging for the Premier League title. However, they are fourth; it appears that Arsenal's title is to lose. Manchester City and the Gunners could be locked in a two-horse race. Whilst Aston Villa should now be considered dark horses ahead of Chelsea.
The Blues have another tricky tie with Bournemouth this weekend before they face Atalanta in the Champions League the following Tuesday. Maresca's side has a busy festive period, which includes an EFL quarter-final tie against the League One side, Cardiff City.