Chelsea vs Leeds: 2 players of Nigerian origin deny Palmer-powered Blues maximum points

Chelsea bottled a two-goal lead against a relentless Leeds side, with Swiss-Nigerian striker Noah Okafor scoring the equaliser for the Peacocks in the 2-2 draw.

João Pedro and Cole Palmer scored in either half, with the Blues reaching the hour mark with a two-goal lead. However, a ten-minute window of relentless pressure in the second half saw Leeds wipe off the margin with goals from German-Nigerian Lukas Nmecha and Okafor.

Chelsea opened the scoring in the 24th minute. The Blues worked the ball neatly upfield before an incisive pass from Cole Palmer released Joao Pedro, who finished calmly beyond Karl Darlow to give Chelsea an early advantage.

The hosts doubled their lead just before the hour mark, after a clumsy challenge on Pedro inside the box earned Chelsea a penalty, which Cole Palmer converted confidently,  sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to make it 2–0 and seemingly putting the match beyond reach.

Leeds responded with determination. A handball conceded by Moisés Caicedo led to a spot-kick in the 67th minute, and Lukas Nmecha stepped up to slot the penalty low past Robert Sánchez, reducing the deficit to 2–1.

Just six minutes later, Leeds completed their comeback. From a high ball into the Chelsea box, defensive confusion saw the ball break kindly for Noah Okafor, who reacted fastest to tap home and level the score at 2–2.

Chelsea continued to push for a winner late on and had a clear chance in stoppage time, but Palmer’s close-range effort flew over the bar, leaving the score 2–2 at full-time.