Premier League: Chelsea suffer first defeat of the season; Newcastle, Man City play out an enthralling draw
Chelsea suffered their first Premier League defeat this season as Edouard Mendy’s embarrassing blunder put Leeds on course for a 3-0 win.
Mendy’s costly mistake was the catalyst for Chelsea’s shocking implosion at Elland Road as he gifted Leeds the opening goal in the 33rd minute when the Chelsea keeper took too long to clear Thiago Silva’s backpass before attempting a suicidal turn that allowed Aaronson to steal the ball and tap into the empty net.
Rodrigo’s fourth goal in three games this season doubled Leeds’ advantage before halftime.
Jack Harrison completed Leeds’ first win over Chelsea since 2002 and their biggest against their old rivals since 1995.
Adding to Chelsea’s misery, their Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly was sent off for a second booking after tripping Joe Gelhardt in the 84th minute.
Unbeaten after three games, Leeds sit fourth in the table as boss Jesse Marsch builds on the momentum established during the club’s successful fight to avoid relegation last season.
In contrast, Chelsea find themselves at the twelfth position, sitting below their less glamorous west London neighbours Fulham and Brentford.
Tuchel’s side have taken four points from their first three games and the German will be concerned at the way his expensively rebuilt team faded after Mendy’s howler.
At the London Stadium, Brighton added to West Ham’s woes with an impressive 2-0 victory.
Alexis Mac Allister put Brighton ahead in the 22nd minute after Danny Welbeck was fouled by West Ham’s debutant defender Thilo Kehrer, a £10 million (£11.8million) signing from Paris Saint-Germain.
Kehrer claimed the foul had taken place outside the penalty area, but a VAR check decided it was just inside and Mac Allister calmly converted the spot-kick.
Leandro Trossard raced through to bag Brighton’s second goal with a composed finish past Lukasz Fabianski in the 66th minute.
Brighton are in fourth place with seven points from their first three games, while West Ham slumped below Manchester United to the bottom of the table.
Erling Haaland helped Manchester City fight back from 3-1 down to salvage a 3-3 draw from an enthralling encounter at the Saint James Park against Newcastle.
Despite Ilkay Gundogan’s early opener for City, Newcastle had the champions on the ropes as goals from Miguel Almiron, Callum Wilson and Kieran Trippier had St. James’ Park rocking.
But Haaland sparked the revival when he fired home his third goal since joining from Borussia Dortmund before Bernardo Silva’s equaliser extended City’s unbeaten start to the season.
Pep Guardiola’s men move up to second, two points adrift of Arsenal, but missed the chance to open up a seven-point advantage on Liverpool ahead of their trip to Manchester United on Monday.
