Chelsea appeared poised to take all three points against Leeds after taking a 2-0 lead through Joao Pedro’s opening goal and Palmer’s penalty. However, the Whites fought back with goals from Lukas Nmecha and Noah Okafor to level the match at 2-2. Palmer squandered an incredible opportunity to win the match in stoppage time with an astonishing miss. The 23-year-old arrived at the far post and seemed set to convert a low cross, but only managed to send the ball over the crossbar.

Sky Sports commentator Paul Merson could not believe his eyes and said, “No! Palmer has just missed from two yards! He’s still standing in goal with his mouth open; he can’t believe he’s missed. I cannot believe what I’ve just seen, wow. He couldn’t do that again if he tried. I cannot believe what I’ve just seen.”

Manager Liam Rosenior was questioned about Palmer’s miss after the match and told reporters: “He’s in position, 999 times out of 1,000 he scores, but it was just that once in that moment. We shouldn’t be in that position. The game should have finished 2-0. I have to teach the players certain things to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

The Chelsea manager also spoke of his disappointment at failing to win the match and added, “Honestly, I don’t recall Leeds having any shots or moments in the match [before Nmecha’s goal]. Parts of our football in possession, in pressing, in energy, were everything I wanted to see, and that makes it even harder to digest that we lost the match. After the second goal, I was frustrated by a couple of things that I will show the players to explain why the momentum of the game shifted. It’s something that concerns the whole team. If we manage to stay focused for 90 minutes, this team has incredible potential, as could be seen in probably 90% of today’s match. I’ve been here a month, and I think I already know what we need to work on to improve that. You have to make sure we have time to do that.”

Chelsea now turns its attention to the FA Cup and the fourth-round match against Hull City, one of the Championship’s most prominent teams, to be played on Friday. The Blues return to Premier League action on February 21, when they host relegation-threatened Burnley.

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