Why Antonio Rudiger screamed at Reece James
Chelsea’s German centre half, the subject of much speculation over his future during the last few months, was not at his dominant best against Leeds but he came up big for his side.
Rudiger won two penalties, both converted by Jorginho, in the second half as the Blues secured a vital win in the context of their season and the Premier League title race with both Man City and Liverpool also winning again.
But Mateusz Klich’s somewhat clumsy challenge on Rudiger as Chelsea bombed forward for the winner gave Jorginho the chance to win it for 12 yards, which he duly did.
Rudiger is out of contract at the end of the season and that is very well known. He can speak to clubs on the continent in January and it has been reported that Real Madrid are confident they can lure him to the Bernabeu on a free transfer this summer.
The situation with Rudiger is clear, which is why he continued to play despite a contract stand-off but Andreas Christensen didn’t. Rudiger wants to be paid on par with the biggest earners at the club because he believes he is one of the best players.
Over the past 12 months since Tuchel arrived, it is hard to dispute that. Rudiger was instrumental in Chelsea’s turnaround since January, playing a pivotal role in the Champions League final success in May and the Blues securing the top four last season.
There hasn’t been any indication that Chelsea will meet Rudiger’s demands but they are becoming harder and harder to ignore, such is the impact he has had on this team.
As Tuchel said post-match: "He [Rudiger] is always important, he did not accept to lose today and we can agree on this one that it was necessary.
He cares for Chelsea. His reaction at full time when he steamed into a confrontation in front of the Matthew Harding Lower and having to be restrained by Romelu Lukaku showed what the club means to him.
In the first half as well, Rudiger went mad at Reece James for not throwing him the ball from a throw-in. What Rudiger was doing in central midfield to then shout for the ball only he knows, but James ignored him and went back to Cesar Azpilicueta, leading to Rudiger jumping up and down in frustration in the middle of the park.
Tuchel wants Rudiger to stay and you get that Rudiger will be more than happy to carry on in SW6 if he is paid what he thinks he is worth. It is up to Chelsea’s top brass to decide if he is because a team out there will probably give him what he wants.
Chelsea finally hold on to a lead - just
When Gelhardt equalised with his first touch and nine minutes remaining on the clock, a familiar feeling descended over Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea had once again surrendered a lead. They had done so four times in previous matches and again on Saturday, turning around a 1-0 disadvantage to a 2-1 advantage thanks to goals from Mason Mount and Jorginho’s first penalty of the afternoon.
The Blues had forfeited advantages against West Ham and Zenit St Petersburg and looked on the verge of doing it again before Klich’s recklessness gifted Chelsea the chance to secure all three points.
But at 2-1, Chelsea showed some of the similar problems that have plagued them over the last fortnight or so.
They sat off Leeds, who were more than happy to take them on at 2-1 down and Marcelo Bielsa’s side created chances, especially through Raphinha who saw a low drive kicked away by Edouard Mendy in goal.
But you got the feeling that the second goal was coming for Leeds and it duly did when Gelhardt got goalside of Thiago Silva and swept home from close range.
Speaking after the game, Tuchel said: "I was confident that we maybe get one more chance and turn things around because we played very strongly in the first half and we showed again a good reaction after the equaliser.
"In between, we played maybe a little bit with the fear that we had something to lose, and we absolutely didn't want to lose what we worked so hard for. So yeah, there is always a bit of luck, of course, when you get such a late goal. But we've conceded two of them so maybe it was our turn.
"We needed this win desperately for the mood, the belief, for the atmosphere. I am very happy how we got it, I'm very happy how we played, and we have two days off now and it's a good feeling for the boys."
A good feeling indeed for Chelsea, who needed to keep pace with the relentlessness of Liverpool and Man City at the summit. The Blues did it the hard way but they ground it out, exactly when they needed it.
Thomas Tuchel’s basics still need to be mastered after another error-strewn display
The Chelsea head coach has repeatedly stated over the last ten days that his side need to get back to basics, to do them at what he calls the “top level” and to cut out the basic errors his players have been making.
Chelsea have shipped eight goals in their last three games in all competitions. Between August and the end of November, they had conceded only five times. The defence has been breached far too often and they are conceding too many chances as well.
The pattern continued against Leeds. Marcos Alonso’s incredibly clumsy challenge on Daniel James led to Leeds’ penalty, dispatched by Raphinha, to give the visitors the lead.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek had squandered possession too easily in the build up as well that led to the spot kick being given.
In the final third, too many passes went awry and too many heavy touches were on display. It was a rainy afternoon in west London so perhaps you could pin some of it on the conditions but Tuchel will have expected better from his players.
The head coach was his usual expressive self on the touchline, jumping up and down when he was frustrated, turning to his bench to have a moan and barking at whoever happened to be closest to him on the touchline to vent his frustration.
Even after Chelsea secured the late win via Jorginho’s spot kick, Tuchel was unmoved on the bench. He had a face like thunder and is still clearly unhappy with the performances of his players despite them getting back on the winning trail.
But the head coach was in far better spirits when he emerged for his post-match press conference after full time:
