Leeds United £5m well spent, Chelsea warm-up squabble and off-camera moments from madcap draw — YEP 11/2/26

By Graham Smyth

Good day, bad day and off-camera moments from Leeds United's comeback draw at Chelsea.

Leeds United's man of the moment had to overcome disappointment to come up with another huge contribution to the Premier League survival battle at Chelsea.

The Whites fought back from two goals down against a rampant Blues side creating all kinds of problems at Stamford Bridge to secure a vital point. Lukas Nmecha's penalty was followed by Noah Okafor's tap-in as they maintained their six-point lead over West Ham United and overtook Spurs in the table.

Here's the YEP take and what you may have missed.

Good day: Noah Okafor. It must have come as a huge disappointment for the winger to discover he was not going to start after putting in his best-ever Leeds performance against Nottingham Forest. Daniel Farke felt defensive duties had to come first and Okafor needed a little longer to recover before starting again. But when he came on as a substitute he carried on where he left off. There was the same effort and aggression, the willingness to defend and once more he was in the right place to score a hugely important goal.

Good day: Jayden Bogle. The £5m that Leeds paid for him just looks better and better all the time - or worse and worse if you're of a Sheffield United persuasion. He was a man on a mission in the second half and essentially willed two goals into existence. Won a penalty, forced confusion in the Chelsea box.

Bad day: Sebastiaan Bornauw. Whether it was the system, Cole Palmer's excellence, an unfamiliar defensive back line or a combination of all three, Bornauw struggled in a torrid first half. The centre-back allowed Joao Pedro to run off him for the first goal and was pulled all over as Palmer roamed. His withdrawal 10 minutes into the second half was no huge surprise.

Bad day: Liam Rosenior. The relatively inexperienced boss of Chelsea had every reason to be delighted with how his side took control of the game and it all looked so comfortable, until suddenly they wobbled and cracked and blew a two-goal lead. That they couldn't find a winner despite all that pressure and all those chances was doubly frustrating for him. And to make matters worse Leeds encroached on his side's turf during the warm-up, which he hates.

Bad day: Cole Palmer. The Chelsea and England attacker is plainly a wonderful footballer, so gifted and creative. The passes he picked were superb and Leeds struggled to deal with him. He took his penalty really well, inevitably. But the miss he was guilty of in the final stages was a horror show and enough to keep anyone awake at night.

Off-camera

Facundo Buonanotte going and shaking the hands of several Chelsea backroom staff members as soon as he came out of the tunnel for the warm-up.

Lucas Perri practising his kicking with a fitness coach while Karl Darlow faced shots from the goalkeeping coach and Alex Cairns.

Cairns trying to diffuse tension after a Chelsea backroom staff member complained about his presence in the home half of the pitch to catch and retrieve Darlow's kicks. Ironically enough, Chelsea had their own presence in the Leeds half a little earlier on.

Tony Dorigo playing the job of electrical engineer and fixing the monitors for a row of the press box. He pressed a button. It might well have been Dorigo who turned it off accidentally in the first place come to think of it.

Joao Pedro calling Liam Rosenior over to ask for some last minute tactical clarity before kick-off. The Chelsea attacker was then pleading for the officials to help him out as Ethan Ampadu wrapped him up in a bear hug and stopped him from pressing as Leeds kicked off. No help was forthcoming.

Fourth official Farai Hallam calling a Leeds throw in, helping the referee and assistant to change their minds and infuriating Cucurella.

The Leeds bench preparing a new pair of boots for Jaka Bijol after he complained about some issue with his right one. He was able to swap them in a break in play after Chelsea's first goal.

Ethan Ampadu cutting short a backroom staff member's approach to the officials as they came off at half-time, having already himself made Leeds' unhappiness known.

The quiet around Stamford Bridge allowing the media to hear James Justin's four-letter-word-beginning-with-a-c blast at Cucurella for nudging him in the back while the Leeds man was mid-air.

Farke's face showing how good a chance he felt his side had of snatching a third after Okafor's cross hit the offside Gabriel Gudmundsson. That was their moment because after that it was all hands to the pumps, defensively.