Mendy error sends Chelsea down in 3-0 defeat by Leeds | Sport

LEEDS, England (AP) — A poor mistake by goalkeeper Eduardo Mendy led to Chelsea’s 3-0 rout of Leeds on Sunday, in which American winger Brendan Aaronson scored his first Premier League goal.

The late dismissal of centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly capped a miserable day at lively Elland Road for Chelsea, who suffered their first defeat of the season.

It was Aaronson who put the pressure on Mendy after the Senegal international received a back pass in the 33rd minute. Mendy took a bit of a heavy touch and tried to round Aaronson, who cleared him and sent the ball into the net to make it 1-0.

In the 37th minute, Rodrigo headed home a Jack Harrison free kick from Harrison.

Koulibaly, one of Chelsea’s off-season signings, picked up his second yellow card in the 84th for removing the shirt of substitute Joe Gelhardt.

Chelsea’s poor performance was in stark contrast to his impressive performance in last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham and highlighted a number of weaknesses in his squad.

Especially in attack, where manager Thomas Tuchel seems to be lacking after letting go of Romelu Lukaku and Tim Werner and only bringing in Raheem Sterling from Manchester City. Sterling was denied a goal in the first half and also missed a great early chance.

Chelsea are also short of centre-backs – Koulibaly’s suspension won’t help – as well as problems in midfield, with injuries to N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic.

Leeds started with two wins and a draw in manager Jesse Marsh’s first full season.

Spanish striker Rodrigo has four goals, making him the top scorer in the league.

More AP football: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, copied or distributed without permission.