At Stamford Bridge on 10/2, Chelsea dominated in every statistic, controlling possession 66% and taking 20 shots with four on target, compared to four shots with two on target for Leeds. The home side even led 2-0 after an hour of play, but ultimately secured only one point, much to their disappointment.

Chelsea started proactively and took an early lead in the 24th minute. Cole Palmer threaded a pass for Joao Pedro to enter the penalty area, who then calmly chipped the ball with his left foot over goalkeeper Karl Darlow.

Joao Pedro (blue shirt) chips the ball to open the scoring in Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Leeds in the 26th round of the Premier League at Stamford Bridge, London, England on 10/2/2026. Photo: Premier League

That was Pedro's 10th goal in the Premier League this season, matching his best single-season tally previously set with Brighton in the 2024-2025 season. Pedro also became the fourth Brazilian player to reach 10 goals in at least two consecutive Premier League seasons, following Roberto Firmino (four seasons from 2015-2016 to 2018-2019), Richarlison (2018-2019, 2019-2020), and Matheus Cunha (2023-2024, 2024-2025).

In the 57th minute, Pedro again broke into the penalty area and was fouled from behind by Jaka Bijol, earning Chelsea a penalty. From the 11-meter spot, Palmer struck a low shot into the right corner, sending the Leeds goalkeeper the wrong way and extending the lead to 2-0. This marked Palmer's 18th successful penalty out of 19 attempts in the Premier League. His only miss was against Leicester in 3/2025.

With a two-goal advantage, Chelsea unexpectedly slowed down and paid the price. In the 67th minute, Moises Caicedo committed a foul in the penalty area, allowing Lukas Nmecha to convert the penalty and reduce the deficit. Six minutes later, Noah Okafor capitalized on an opportunity with a close-range tap-in, beating Robert Sanchez to bring Leeds level at 2-2. VAR controversially confirmed the goal, despite the ball touching Jayden Bogle's elbow in the preceding play.

Noah Okafor finishes into an empty net, securing a 2-2 draw. Photo: Shutterstock

On Sky Sports, former Premier League referee Mike Dean expressed surprise that Leeds' equalizer was allowed. "The ball touched Bogle's elbow. I'm surprised the goal wasn't disallowed. Perhaps VAR considered it unintentional", he commented.

Coach Liam Rosenior was also upset with the referee's decision. "At that moment, I thought it was a handball", he said after the match. "As far as I understand, if there's any handball in the buildup to a goal, that goal should be disallowed. If they deem it unintentional, then someone needs to explain the rules to me again. That just makes me angrier".

According to Premier League rules, a goal is only disallowed if the handball directly leads to the goal or if the goalscorer handles the ball immediately before scoring. VAR determined that Chelsea still had a chance to clear the ball after it touched Bogle's elbow and before Okafor's shot, so they did not intervene.

Cole Palmer shoots over the bar in the fourth minute of added time. Photo: Reuters

After conceding the equalizer, "The Blues" pushed for a decisive goal and seemed to have found it in the fourth minute of added time. Caicedo broke down the right wing and delivered a favorable cross into the six-yard box, but Palmer blasted the ball over the bar from only about two meters in front of an open goal, ending a frustrating evening for the Stamford Bridge hosts.

Rosenior lamented his compatriot's wasted opportunity, which had an expected goals (xG) value of 0,87. "That's a one-in-a-thousand moment. 999 other times he would score", the English coach said. "But we shouldn't have let the game get to that point. There are small details I will need to point out to ensure this doesn't happen again".

Hong Duy