Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has admitted that Leeds United were the better side in Wednesday’s Premier League clash at Elland Road and deserved to win.
Chelsea fell behind early on to Jaka Bijol’s header from a corner and found ourselves two goals down by half-time when Ao Tanaka fired in Leeds’ second from outside the box.
Half-time substitute Pedro Neto gave Chelsea hope of a fightback by reducing the deficit, but then Dominic Calvert-Lewin scrambled home to end their chances and make the final score 3-1.
“They were better than us in all the aspects and they deserved to win the game,’ Maresca admitted on Chelseafc.com.
“There is nothing we can take from this game. The only thing we can do is try to understand the mistakes we have made, try to reset, because on Saturday we have another game.
“There was no-one that was at his best level. Pedro second half, Garna [Alejandro Garnacho] second half, probably they were our best players, because after we scored the goal we had two chances with Cole [Palmer] and Joao [Pedro]. Then the third goal killed the game.
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“I hope that we had a bad night because it’s a game that you struggle to find something that you can take from the game. On the ball, off the ball, duels, second balls – they were much better than us in all the aspects.”
“For sure for different reasons the level is not going to be always the same. Home or away against any team, if you don’t perform 100 per cent, the Premier League is tough,’ he continued.
“When you play the way we did in the last two games against Barcelona and Arsenal, you expect a better performance, no doubt. But because we perform so well against Arsenal and Barcelona and over the last month, that does not mean that we are going to perform always in the same way.
“For different reasons it is not possible, because of the situations you have to manage. We have players that it is not possible for them to play every two or three days. When you change players, the level drops, that is the reality because they are important players for us and would be important players for any team.”
