Maresca blasts 'very poor' Chelsea after damaging Premier League defeat vs Leeds

Enzo Maresca slammed lacklustre Chelsea after their English Premier League (EPL) title challenge suffered a huge setback in a shock 3-1 defeat at lowly Leeds United on Wednesday.

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Maresca's side paid the price for a woeful first-half performance at Elland Road featuring Leeds goals from Jaka Bijol and Ao Tanaka.

Pedro Neto reduced the deficit after the interval but Chelsea conceded a farcical third goal to Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the closing stages.

Losing to a fourth-bottom Leeds side beaten in their previous four games was a major setback to Chelsea's hopes of competing with leaders Arsenal for the title.

The Blues' first defeat in eight games in all competitions left them nine points behind Arsenal in fourth place.

"There was nobody at their best level," Maresca said. "They were better than us in all aspects, they deserved to win.

"A very poor night. We performed so well against Arsenal and Barcelona, but it doesn't mean we are going to always perform the same way because of the situation you have to manage, the players you have to rotate.