Leeds United’s under-23s were handed a lifeline on Sunday as Chelsea failed to capitalise on the first of their two games in hand. Following Leeds’ draw at Arsenal on Friday, the young Blues knew that one win from their final two matches of the season would be enough to stay up and relegate Andrew Taylor’s side.
However, Chelsea could not take advantage of their first opportunity as they were defeated 4-3 by Blackburn Rovers in a dramatic game in Lancashire. Chelsea had found themselves 3-2 at the break but suffered stoppage-time heartbreak as Jack Vale netted his fourth of the afternoon to send Chelsea home empty-handed and with it all to do on the final game of the season.
The Blues will now have a London derby with bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 8 May, where nothing but a win would propel them out of danger. If Chelsea fail to secure all three points, then Leeds’ survival in the top division of Premier League 2 would be confirmed, in what has been a very difficult season.
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The young Whites have been without several of the key men who won promotion from Division 2 in the previous campaign due to their first team commitments. The likes of Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood, Charlie Cresswell and Cody Drameh (now on loan at Cardiff City) have all missed large portions of the season, which has had a detrimental impact on their results.
However, if Tottenham are able to do Leeds a favour, then survival in the top-flight of PL2 would be regarded as quite an achievement.
