Maresca Admits Chelsea Is So Bad That It Deserves To Lose To Leeds

Chelsea lost against Leeds United (Instagram/@chelseafc).

JAKARTA - Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said his team deserved a surprise 1-3 defeat to Leeds United on Thursday, December 4, 2025, early in the morning WIB, destroying their hopes of competing for the Premier League title.

The defeat came just three days after his 10-member team fought hard to hold back the Premier League leaders, Arsenal, 1-1.

However, Maresca's team is now down to fourth and nine points behind Arsenal.

"It was a very bad night. They (Leeds) deserved to win the game, they were better at all aspects," Maresca told a news conference after the game.

Leeds took a 2-0 lead in the first half thanks to goals from Jaka Bijol and Ao Tanaka. Pedro Neto narrowed the gap in the 50th minute, but defense error Tosin Adarabioyo made Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin take advantage of it to change the score to 3-1.

"There's nothing we can take from this game. The only thing we can do is try to understand the mistakes we've made, try to rearrange, because in 48 hours we have one more game."

"I hope we had a bad night because they had the ball, played well without the ball, the second ball, they were much better than us in all aspects," said Maresca.

Meanwhile, Maresca revealed that he pulled Estevoo in the second half after the frustrated Brazilian received a yellow card for kicking Gabriel Gudmundsson.

"I think the feeling for Estevoo is, you know, a little 'welcome in Leeds'. Sometimes at the age of 18, you have difficulty controlling your emotions. So, it's better to change it and avoid red cards," said Maresca.

One positive thing for Chelsea is the return of playmaker Cole Palmer, who came on as a substitute in the second half for his first appearance in more than two months due to a groin injury.