VAO-T-OF LINE

ESTEVAO escaped a red card for his “severe head loss” as Chelsea crashed to defeat at Leeds.

The Blues were thumped 3-1 just days after holding out for a draw against Arsenal with 10 men.

Moises Caicedo was missed in midfield as his suspension was felt throughout the game.

And Enzo Maresca will have to go back to the drawing board after also making several changes in defence and attack.

One man who kept his place in Chelsea’s starting XI was Estevao.

The Brazilian had a decent outing against Arsenal.

And a week ago he shone on the European stage with a fine goal in the Champions League win over Barcelona.

However, Estevao found himself easily contained by Leeds left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson.

And the 18-year-old showed his petulant side with a silly kick at the Swede just minutes before half time.

Estevao’s cheap swing saw Gudmundsson collapse to the ground in agony, prompting an angry response from his Leeds teammates.

Fortunately for the teen, he was only shown a yellow card for the wild antics.

But fans on social media felt Estevao was extremely fortunate to remain on the pitch, with Maresca hauling him off at the break.

Boss Maresca opened up on his decision to take off Estevao at the break.

He said: “The feeling with Estevao was a little bit like welcome to the Premier League. Welcome to Leeds.

“The impact to him has probably been big, a big impact.

“The reason we changed, he was on a yellow card. Sometimes at 18, you struggle with emotion.

‘‘It was better to change him, to avoid any red cards.”

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s Premier League title hopes suffered a major setback with a humbling 3-1 defeat at Leeds United on Wednesday, which lifted the hosts out of the relegation zone.

Leeds came into the game on the back of four consecutive defeats while Chelsea were on a run of three wins in four unbeaten league games but the tables were turned at Elland Road to ease the pressure on home manager Daniel Farke.

“We were so desperate to bring this club back to the top level, and Elland Road was tonight back to its best,” Farke told the BBC.

Chelsea remain on 24 points and slipped to fourth in the standings, three points behind third-placed Aston Villa who won 4-3 at Brighton & Hove Albion and nine points off leaders Arsenal after their 2-0 win over Brentford. Leeds are 17th on 14 points.

There was a real lack of urgency in Chelsea’s approach and they were made to pay as Enzo Maresca’s decision to make five changes from the side which started Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Arsenal backfired.

Leeds were on the attack from the off, Anton Stach had a volley blocked and Ao Tanaka fired wide from a good position in the area before they found the opener in the sixth minute from a corner.

Chelsea substitute Pedro Neto got on the end of a Jamie Gittens cross to smash the ball home at the back post five minutes after halftime, and the comeback looked on.

“A great, great shift from my lads, great performance against one of the best sides in the world,” Farke added.

“They won the (Club) World Cup in the summer, they’re one of the contenders for the Premier League title, and then to win this game, also in this manner, and I would also say deserved by chances, expected goals, shots, shots on target.”