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It was honours even at Elland Road, as Leeds United and Chelsea played out a goalless draw in Saturday's lunchtime kickoff in the Premier League.
It was a highly engaging, tactical encounter between two teams who probed tirelessly for what could have been a winner, but that was not to be. Both shot-stoppers stood firm despite a total of 21 shots attempted towards either goal.
There was intensity in the first half, with both teams striking the bar. However, Chelsea struggled to produce anything substantial, as their final decision-making was awry in the last third. Leeds, to their credit, conjured a few opportunities despite Chelsea dominating possession.
In the second half, Edouard Mendy did well to deny Raphinha, while Tyler Roberts' tap-in for Leeds United was ruled out for offside as both teams settled for a share of the spoils.
On that note, let's take a look at the five major talking points from Chelsea's stalemate against Leeds United.
#1 Both sides impress with their pressing game
Right from the get-go, Leeds United announced their intentions of not hanging back and allowing Chelsea to come at them. Instead, they matched the Blues' counter-pressing with high, relentless pressure on the visitors' three-man defence.
The intense pressing helped both sides carve out open spaces, but was a goal was not to be.
Chelsea looked more open than they have in recent weeks, as Tyler Roberts beat Edouard Mendy with a well-measured chip from outside the box that hit the woodwork.
The Peacocks struck the Chelsea woodwork again, courtesy of an attempted clearance off another white shirt onto the post. All in all, the movement of the forwards of both teams, alongside momentary spells of quality attacking, made for a lively affair.
#2 Kai Havertz sizzles fo Chelsea
Earlier this week, Thomas Tuchel had revealed that he would not be afraid to deploy the under-fire Kai Havertz in a progressive role, 10-15 metres further up the pitch.
Against Leeds, the youngster played as the furthest man forward in a false nine role. Other changes for Chelsea included the inclusion of Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic.
Havertz's movement created all sorts of problems for Leeds early on in the first half. It began when Pulisic took on Luke Ayling down the right flank and played the ball into Havertz's path.
There were a couple of more instances when the German dropped his shoulder and sneaked in behind the Leeds defenders. The finishing touches were not there, though, for a player who just cannot buy himself a goal at the moment.
#3 Leeds United have a better second half than Chelsea
While Chelsea kept hold of the ball more often than their opponents, they were thwarted by resolute defending and eventually ran out of ideas in the final third.
Credit must go to Leeds United for their stellar defensive work because matching the number of kilometres the Chelsea players put in under Tuchel is never easy. In fact, Leeds were more likely than Chelsea to break the deadlock.
Roberts had a handful of moments when he beat his marker, dribbled past them with smart footwork but skewed his shot. Rodrigo, meanwhile, had a free header with the entire Chelsea goal to aim at but could not find the right connection.
Raphinha had Mendy lurching off a fine turn and shot, which was ultimately parried away by the Chelsea custodian. Leeds' threat on the counter, quality of pressing and overall resilience proves why they are only two points off the top half of the table.
#4 Profligate Chelsea's top-four hopes in the balance
Yet again, it was a case of 'take it and not make it's for Chelsea. The visitors controlled most of the game and grabbed a staggering tenth clean sheet under Tuchel but could not find a way to breach Leeds' otherwise porous defence.
In fact, Leeds conjured the better chances in front of goal on the night. While there were bursts of pace from the returning Pulisic, smart runs beyond the channel from Havertz and a few overlaps from Ben Chilwell, Chelsea just did not have their scoring boots on.
Aaron Meslier was made to save a number of shots, but none of them really looked to get the better of him.
Chelsea are now two points ahead of West Ham, who have a couple of games in hand. Everton do, too, while Tottenham Hotspur are picking up some real form in the back-end of the season.
It's fair to say, Chelsea's defensive solidity cannot always rescue them and grant a prized Champions League spot as the Blues face a struggle to grab a top-four spot,
#5 Edouard Mendy is Chelsea's signing of the season
Amidst all the attacking firepower brought to the club, Edouard Mendy has arguably proved to be Chelsea's best signing of the season.
The goalkeeper was at it again, commanding his box, coming out of his lines and collecting the ball whenever Leeds had chances off set-pieces. What was most impressive to see was his ball-playing ability which he managed to showcase against one of the most potent pressing sides in the Premier League.
Mendy got his fingertips to deny Tyler Roberts and then produced a match-saving stop in the second half to deny Raphinha.
He now has 19 clean sheets for Chelsea while only letting in 18 goals in 31 games. The Senegalese is proving to be Ederson's closest competitor to the Golden Glove award this season.
