By William Schomberg
LONDON (Reuters) – Chelsea got their Premier League title challenge back on track with a dramatic 3-2 home win over Leeds United on Saturday, settled by an injury-time penalty converted by Jorginho who had earlier scored another spot kick.
The Blues displayed more of the uncharacteristic fragility in defence that has raised questions about their chances of winning the league under Thomas Tuchel, who made them European champions last season.
But the win kept the Londoners in third place with 36 points, two behind leaders Manchester City, who edged Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0, and one behind Liverpool after they beat Aston Villa 1-0.
Leeds were weakened by a string of injuries but the visitors went ahead in the 28th minute when Daniel James was felled in the box by Marcos Alonso and Brazilian playmaker Raphinha stroked home the penalty.
Chelsea looked stunned as they contemplated the prospect of conceding more ground in the title race, having lost last weekend at West Ham United and dropped more points two weeks ago in a home draw with Manchester United.
But the hosts clawed their way back into the game when Alonso, trying to atone for his earlier error, stole the ball from Stuart Dallas, exchanged passes with Timo Werner and crossed for Mason Mount to score with a first-time angled shot.
Tuchel’s men turned the game around when referee Chris Kavanagh, after a VAR check, awarded a penalty for a Raphinha challenge on Antonio Rudiger and Jorginho fired high into the net.
Chelsea failed to extend their advantage and Leeds drew level in the 83rd minute when 19-year-old Joe Gelhardt, barely on the field as a substitute, turned in Tyler Roberts’s cross to score his first league goal.
Just when the Blues looked like they had slipped up again, Rudiger went down in the box under a challenge by Mateusz Klich and Jorginho rolled home the ball, choosing the other side of the goal to his first penalty strike.
“I think we deserved to win but of course it’s lucky when you have a late goal in extra time,” a relieved-sounding Tuchel told Sky Sports.
“But coming back twice is very impressive and I’m very happy we turned things around. It was tough work but we didn’t expect anything else.”
(Reporting by William Schomberg; Editing by Ken Ferris and Clare Fallon)
