Chelsea lift some pressure on Potter after Fofana header edges out Leeds

Up in the directors’ box, Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali were deep in conversation. Chelsea’s co-owners had witnessed a rare thing: a goal, a win, flashes of positivity. But it so easily could have gone in a different direction. Chelsea were a bag of nerves when they were trying to hold on to their slender lead during the dying stages and, although Graham Potter was in no position to turn down the points, he will know that his side must show far conviction at both ends of the pitch when they host Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday.

In truth, this was not particularly convincing. There were a raft of defensive substitutions from Potter midway through the second half and Chelsea, who lifted the pressure on their head coach thanks to a headed winner from Wesley Fofana, did their best to throw it away. Leeds, whose relegation problems deepened here, would hit the post just before the end and the final action of the game was their goalkeeper, Illan Meslier, going close to scoring a dramatic equaliser.

Potter had appeared in his technical area straight away, urging his team on, applauding every promising moment, turning away in disappointment when Fofana nodded an early corner over. This was never going to be a stress-free afternoon. The early signs were positive for Chelsea, their pressing energetic, a flexible 3-4-2-1 system functioning well, but anxiety lurked at every turn. It was evident whenever Kalidou Koulibaly was dragged out of position in central defence and it grew the longer it stayed goalless, edginess setting in as Leeds came into the contest, the home fans responding with a smattering of boos when half-time arrived.

The frustration for Potter was that Chelsea could have buried