Leeds United 3-1 Chelsea: Hosts climb out of bottom three to ease pressure on Farke

Leeds United climbed out of the Premier League's relegation zone and eased the pressure on head coach Daniel Farke following a 3-1 win over Chelsea.

With West Ham not playing until Thursday, the hosts took full advantage of the underwhelming Blues at Elland Road to move three points clear of the bottom three.

Farke's side, despite a four-game losing streak, made a bright start and were rewarded when Jaka Bijol thumped home a header from Anton Stach's corner after just six minutes.

Pascal Struijk went close before Leeds doubled their advantage in the 42nd minute, pouncing on sloppy play from their opponents with Ao Tanaka lashing home from 20 yards out.

Chelsea pulled a goal back five minutes into the second half, with substitute Pedro Neto volleying in at the far post. Cole Palmer was also introduced and shot narrowly wide within eight minutes of his return to action.

However, it was Leeds who grabbed the game's vital fourth goal 18 minutes from time.

Noah Okafor capitalised on Tosin Adarabioyo's hesitancy inside his own penalty area, before his challenge on Robert Sanchez allowed Dominic Calvert-Lewin to slot into an empty net and seal a morale-boosting victory.

Data Debrief: Rodon matches Hunter as back three pays dividends

Reportedly under pressure following a run of four straight defeats, Farke switched from a back four for the first time in a Premier League game since his Norwich City side were beaten 7-0 by Chelsea just over four years ago.

One of his back three, Joe Rodon has now started in Leeds' last 100 league/play-off matches, becoming the first outfield player to achieve that feat for the Whites since Norman Hunter, who also wore the number six shirt for the club, between September 1962 and April 1965 (113 in a row).

Meanwhile, Bijol, another of Farke;s defenders, was on target after just five minutes and 24 seconds, making it the earliest Premier League goal Chelsea have conceded from a corner since Jose Bosingwa's own goal against Wolves in January 2011 (four minutes, 18 seconds).

Tanaka doubled the lead in superb fashion, the Japanese midfielder becoming the first Asian player to score for Leeds in the Premier League.

Calvert-Lewin added a third, meaning Chelsea have conceded three or more goals against a side starting the day in the relegation zone for the first time since April 2021 and a 5-2 defeat against Sam Allardyce's West Brom.