Chelsea lose ground at the top with 3-1 loss at Leeds

LEEDS, England, Dec 3 : Chelsea's Premier League title hopes suffered a major setback with a humbling 3-1 defeat at Leeds United on Wednesday, which lifted the hosts out of the relegation zone.

Leeds came into the game on the back of four consecutive defeats while Chelsea were on a run of three wins in four unbeaten league games but the tables were turned at Elland Road to ease the pressure on home manager Daniel Farke.

Chelsea remain on 24 points and slipped to fourth in the standings, three points behind third-placed Aston Villa who won 4-3 at Brighton & Hove Albion and nine points off leaders Arsenal after their 2-0 win over Brentford. Leeds are 17th on 14 points.

There was a real lack of urgency in Chelsea's approach and they were made to pay as Enzo Maresca's decision to make five changes from the side which started Sunday's 1-1 draw at Arsenal backfired.

Leeds were on the attack from the off, Anton Stach had a volley blocked and Ao Tanaka fired wide from a good position in the area before they found the opener in the sixth minute from a corner.

Before the corner was taken, Enzo Fernandez screamed at his Chelsea colleagues, clearly unhappy with how they had started the game, but his words made little difference.

Stach floated the ball towards the near post where defender Jaka Bijol lost his marker and rose unchallenged to power a header past Robert Sanchez from outside the six-yard area.

While Chelsea continued to struggle to find a foothold in the game, Leeds had another chance from a corner, with Pascal Struijk heading wide.

Tanaka hit another poor effort when set up by Stach, but he more than made up for his misses when Fernandez gave away possession in his own half two minutes before the break.

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