Leeds' Dan James sent off for hideous tackle on Chelsea's Mateo Kovacic

Leeds United endured a miserable start to a Premier League match for the second time in the space of days against Chelsea.

Having conceded two goals in the opening 10 minutes against Arsenal at the weekend, which was compounded by Luke Ayling’s red card, things went from bad to worse at Elland Road on Wednesday.

That’s because the relegation-threatened Whites were suffering from a bout of deja vu as they once again conceded early and went into the half-time break with only 10 men on the pitch.

However, while Mason Mount’s opening goal for the European champions might have been a scintillating strike, there’s no denying that attention was fully focused on Dan James’ red card.

That’s because it happened to be one of the worst tackles that we’ve seen for years in the Premier League with the former Manchester United ace planting a horrendous challenge on Mateo Kovacic.

While there was likely no malice behind said red card offence, that didn’t make it any less dangerous with James planting his studs halfway up Kovacic’s leg at a serious rate of knots.

As soon as replays showed exactly how swiftly James came flying in and just how high his foot was above the ground, it couldn’t have any clearer why the red card came out almost immediately.

It’s one of the tackles that makes you want to look away and fold yourself into a ball, so be sure to hold on tight as you watch James’ brutal challenge that consigned him to an early bath down below:

RED CARD!