Leeds United were distracted from their Championship exploits during the week as they faced Chelsea in the fifth round of the FA Cup at Stamford Bridge.
The Whites took the lead through Mateo Joseph’s early goal but first-half strikes from Nicolas Jackson and Mykhaylo Mudryk put the hosts in front at the break.
Joseph then scored his second of the night to make it 2-2 with a header at the back post, only for Conor Gallagher to score a late winner for the Blues to secure their progression through to the quarter-finals.
Daniel Farke’s side now turn their attention back to the Championship as his team travel across Yorkshire to take on Huddersfield Town this afternoon.
The German head coach could make some changes from the XI that started the game against Chelsea. One player, in particular, who must be unleashed is Georginio Rutter, who must replace Joel Piroe in the line-up after a poor display from the Dutchman that should see him ruthlessly ditched.
Joel Piroe’s statistics against Chelsea
The former Swansea star was selected to play with Joseph in the attack at Stamford Bridge but was completely outshined by the U21s dynamo.
FFC picked him out as being even worse than Junior Firpo, who stepped out and completely missed the ball and player for Gallagher’s winning goal, due to his disappointing contributions in and out of possession throughout the match.
Piroe played 79 minutes on the night without making a significant impact on the game as he struggled at the top end of the pitch and off the ball.
The 24-year-old whiz lost six of his nine duels on the night, including five of his eight on the ground and his one in the air, which shows that Chelsea’s players found it far too easy to get the better of him in physical battles.
