Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has admitted his side fell well short of expectations during their 3-1 loss to Leeds United on Wednesday night, accepting the Blues did not deserve anything from the match at Elland Road.

The hosts struck twice before half-time through Jaka Bijol and Ao Tanaka, leaving Chelsea chasing the game. Pedro Neto gave the visitors a lifeline shortly after the break, but any hopes of a comeback faded when Dominic Calvert-Lewin punished a loose defensive pass to secure the result.

The defeat leaves Chelsea nine points adrift of Premier League leaders Arsenal, and Maresca did not hide his frustration when speaking on the BBC’s Match of the Day.

He said: “A very poor night, they [Leeds] deserved to win the game, they were better in all aspects. [We will] just try to analyse and learn from this game and focus on the next one. After the goal we scored we had one or two clear chances, but the third goal killed the game completely, then it’s much more difficult.”

Maresca later highlighted the absence of key players as part of the problem, particularly midfielder Moises Caicedo, who is serving a three-match suspension after being sent off against Arsenal, and playmaker Cole Palmer, who is still returning to full fitness after injury.

“I think, again, we missed Moi tonight; we are going to miss Moi in the next game,” he said. “He is an important player. In the same way, even if the results were different, in the same way we missed Cole, in the same way we missed players that for us are important. Moi is a player that, for us, is an important player for any team in the world, because he is top.”

Note that Palmer featured as a second-half substitute, having spent several weeks sidelined.

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