Leeds player ratings vs Chelsea: Ao Tanaka sublime, but one teammate is a big letdown
Leeds overcame the odds to beat Chelsea 3-1 in a thriller at Elland Road on Wednesday.
Last time out in the Premier League, Leeds lost 3-2 to Manchester City which put even more pressure on the Whites to get a result against Chelsea.
Daniel Farke has been under serious pressure to turn results around, so he saw fit to change to a five-at-the-back formation versus the Blues.
Jaka Bijol’s goal opened the scoring up for Leeds, before Ao Tanaka‘s stunner helped the Whites to a 2-0 lead going into the break.
However, Pedro Neto got one back for Chelsea early in the second period, with Lukas Nmecha having a goal ruled out for offside just minutes later.
Leeds, then added a third when Dominic Calvert-Lewin pounced on a horror moment at the back from the Blues to help the Whites to a 3-1 win.
Joe Rodon had a poor game vs Chelsea
Despite the win, Joe Rodon wasn’t great defensively and was outshone by the centre-backs next to him.
For the most part, Rodon has been great this season, which is why he’ll get criticism, because everyone knows how good he can be.
However, he failed to win the ratings against the Blues, and he was a shadow of his colossal self.
- Rodon made just 8 accurate passes out of 12
- He won 50% of his aerial duels
- Rodon earned a Sofascore rating of 6.5
Not the best evening for the Welshman, but it was for one star in particular.
Ao Tanaka was superb
Ao Tanaka hasn’t had the start to the season that he would’ve liked, but he’s slowly but surely found himself as a key player for Farke once again.
The midfielder had only started five times in the league heading into this one amid injury struggles, but he looked like he’d never been out of the side.
- Tanaka was given a 7.3 rating by Sofascore
- He completed 11/14 passes in Chelsea’s half
- Tanaka’s goal only had an xG of 0.08
Not only did he score a screamer, but he was tenacious in midfield and was surprisingly Leeds’ best attacking outlet.
He had four attempts on goal and wasn’t dispossessed a single time in the match.
The Japanese international was replaced just after the hour mark and left the field to a standing ovation.
Leeds player ratings vs Chelsea
Perri – 6
Bogle – 6 (off for Justin 87′)
Bijol – 8
Rodon – 5
Struijk – 7
Gudmundsson – 8 (off for Bornauw 90’4)
Tanaka – 9 (off for Gruev 67′)
Ampadu – 7
Stach – 8
Calvert-Lewin – 8 (off for Piroe 87′)
Nmecha – 7 (off for Okafor 67′)
subs
Justin – 5 (on for Bogle 87′)
Gruev – 6 (on for Tanaka 67′)
Piroe – 5 (on for Calvert-Lewin 87′)
Okafor – 6 (on for Nmecha 77′)
Bornauw – N/A (on for Gudmundsson 90’4)
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