Leeds United vs Chelsea: The forgotten rivalry in English football
Leeds United’s rivalry with Chelsea dates back several decades.
The distance between these two sides may be significant, but this encounter still holds a lot of importance because of events in the past.
On 3 December, the Whites will host the Blues at Elland Road, before making the trip to Stamford Bridge for the reverse fixture in the middle of February.
Leeds will be fighting against relegation, while Chelsea will be looking to finish in the top four, but for those two occasions, everything will go out the window.
Leeds vs Chelsea record
Despite the financial gulf between the two sides and the vastly differing ambitions of both clubs in recent years, Leeds have got the best of the Blues in the history of their encounters.
These two giants have faced off against each other 107 times in all competitions, with Leeds emerging as winners on 40 occasions, compared to Chelsea’s 37.
Chelsea hold the upper hand in the FA Cup, having won five of their eight cup encounters with the Whites, and drawing the other three.
The last meeting between these two sides indeed came via the FA Cup, when Chelsea secured a 3-2 victory over Leeds back in 2024.
Nicolas Jackson and Conor Gallagher were on the score sheet against Daniel Farke’s side, who were knocked out of the cup in the same season in which they failed to achieve promotion.
Leeds vs Chelsea historic quotes
Legends from both Chelsea and Leeds have had their say on the clash, and while results may have differed, the overriding emotion on the encounter certainly didn’t.
- Lucas Radebe – Leeds: “Once you get to the ground, you can feel: ‘This is hell'” [ESPN]
- Marcelo Bielsa – Leeds: I don’t think there’s a professional player who hasn’t lived through a time where they face an opponent which increases or multiplies their spirit for a certain game.” [Sunday World]
- Peter Osgood – Chelsea: “They didn’t intimidate us. That’s why they hated us. There was no other club on the planet we would enjoy beating so much.” [Telegraph]
Leeds vs Chelsea iconic matches and moments
Over the years, there have been many memorable encounters between these two sides, though perhaps none as much so as when Leeds secured their biggest-ever win over Chelsea back in 1967.
The Whites won 7-0 that day, with Eddie Gray, the great-uncle of Archie Gray, one of the goal scorers for Leeds.
Other statement victories include the 3-0 win at Elland Road in 2022, where Brenden Aaronson and Jack Harrison scored in the space of four minutes, and Kalidou Koulibaly saw red in the latter stages of the game.
One clash that will never be forgotten was back in 1984, when Chelsea obliterated Leeds 5-0, which resulted in a massive clash after the game.
Leeds supporters stormed the pitch, destroyed the scoreboard and were involved in several altercations, leading to arrests and injuries.
The rivalry has remained strong ever since, even if the sides have not always been in the same division.
Sign up for the MOT Leeds News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Leeds United news sent straight to your phone.