Chelsea v Leeds United

Leeds United and Chelsea in action atElland Road on 1 April 2000.
Location	London andWest Yorkshire
Teams	Chelsea Leeds United
First meeting	10 December 1927 Second Division Leeds United 5–0 Chelsea
Latest meeting	28 February 2024 FA Cup Chelsea 3–2 Leeds United
Next meeting	3 December 2025 Premier League Leeds United v Chelsea
Stadiums	Stamford Bridge(Chelsea) Elland Road(Leeds United)
Statistics
Meetings total	109
Most wins	Leeds United (40)
All-time series	Chelsea: 39 Drawn: 30 Leeds United: 40
Largest victory	Leeds United 7–0 Chelsea (7 October 1967)
Chelsea Leeds United

Therivalry between Chelsea and Leeds United is afootballrivalry betweenLondon-based clubChelsea andYorkshire-basedLeeds United. The rivalry first emerged in the 1960s after a series of fiercely contested and controversial matches, when the two clubs were frequently involved in the pursuit of domestic and European honours culminating in the1970 FA Cup final, which is regarded as one of the most physical matches in English football history.^[1][2]

The perceived contrast between the clubs also fuelled the rivalry, summed up as "Yorkshire grit versus flash Cockney."^[3] The rivalry between the clubs often spilled out onto the terraces: at the height of Britishfootball hooliganism in the 1970s and 1980s, Chelsea'sHeadhunters and Leeds'Service Crew were among the most notorious football firms and had numerous violent encounters with each other. Hooliganism has been effectively curtailed since the 1990s and the rivalry has since declined.

In theOfficial Chelsea Biography, Leeds were cited as one of Chelsea's major rivalries.^[4] However, Leeds' relegation from the Premier League in 2004 had effectively ended the rivalry; the clubs only met once in sixteen years afterwards. The clubs met again in the2020–21 Premier League season, as Leeds United was promoted after winning theEFL Championship in 2019–20. The first such meeting ended in a 3–1 Chelsea victory at Stamford Bridge on 5 December 2020,^[5] and evidence of the rivalry resurfaced.^[6] In the 2003Football Fans Census, while Leeds fans named Chelsea as their second-biggest rivals, behindManchester United, Chelsea fans considerArsenal to be their mainrivals, followed by arivalry withTottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.^[7]

It always rears its ugly head, even when we're nowhere near them. As predictably as the late plod ofCorporal Jones' foot, when Leeds fans gather in any stand, they will sing their song about their Cockney rivals. 'Fetch your father's gun and shoot the Chelsea scum'. Chelsea fans still sometimes reciprocate with an elegy to the hatred of Leeds over the tune of 'TheDambusters March'.^[8]

Chelsea were founded in 1905, Leeds United in 1919. Both teams flitted between the First and Second Divisions in their early years, and neither won a major trophy prior to World War II. The clubs first met in a competitive match in theSecond Division on 10 December 1927; Leeds won 5–0. Leeds also won 3–2 in the return fixture at Stamford Bridge that season to clinch promotion back toDivision One. In 1952, they contested a gruelling fifth roundFA Cup tie which took three matches to produce a winner, Chelsea eventually prevailed 5–1 in a second replay atVilla Park. An aggregate crowd of almost 150,000 watched the three matches and such was the fearsome tackling on display, Chelsea had to make seven changes to their line-up for a subsequent match.^[3]

It was in the 1960s that a significant rivalry first emerged between the clubs. Under the management ofDon Revie, Leeds became a force in English football for the first time, capped by winning the league title in 1969. Chelsea, too, had enjoyed a renaissance underTommy Docherty and also challenged for honours in the 1960s. Over the next decade, they would meet in numerous important, and fiercely contested, matches. Chelsea goalkeeperPeter Bonetti opined that the rivalry between the teams emerged because "Leeds had a name, a reputation as being dirty... [and] We matched them in the physical side of things because we had our own players who were physical... We weren't unalike in the way we played."^[2]Tommy Baldwin said, "There were a lot of scores being settled from previous games whenever we played them. It always just seemed to go mad, with everyone kicking each other."^[9]Norman Hunter said that he and Chelsea strikerPeter Osgood shared a "tremendous rivalry."^[10] It was often rumoured that Osgood was top of the list inJack Charlton's infamous "black book" of players he intended to exact revenge on, although Charlton himself stated that it was actually another, unnamed, Chelsea player.^[11]Johnny Giles recalled the "special sort of animosity" between the teams and his "previous" withEddie McCreadie.^[12]

The rivalry was also fuelled by the traditionalNorth-South divide in England,^[10][13] and by the clubs having markedly different images and philosophies. Chelsea were associated with the fashionableKing's Road and celebrities likeRaquel Welch andSteve McQueen. Leeds were perceived as a cynical, albeit talented, side with a style which some observers regarded as "dirty."^[14] Damien Blake ofWhen Saturday Comes wrote that "Chelsea wereThe Beatles (attractive, clean-cut, fashionable) to Leeds'Stones (surly, violent, sexy, going out withMarianne Faithfull)"^[15] According toJohn King, "Leeds were... portrayed as dour Yorkshiremen with a reputation for playing dirty... Chelsea, on the other hand, were the wide boys of London, dedicated followers of fashion. While Leeds were drinking tea and playing cards, Chelsea were out boozing and chasing girls [but] when it came to games between the two, however, war was declared."^[16]

In1964–65, Chelsea and Leeds had a three way tussle for the league title with Manchester United and met in a league match at Stamford Bridge in September 1964. The Yorkshire Evening Post's reporter observed that "'Never mind the ball' seemed to be the order of the day as scything, irresponsible tackles ruffled tempers."Bobby Collins "viciously" retaliated againstRon Harris and a McCreadie tackle on Giles resulted in Giles leaving the field on a stretcher, reducing Leeds to ten men for the remainder of the match.^[17] In 1966, the teams met in anFA Cup fourth round tie, where a crowd of 57,000 saw Chelsea win 1–0 with a goal fromBobby Tambling, a game in which "the young Chelsea team withstood an almost continuous battering from Leeds."^[18]

The rivalry intensified when they met in the FA Cup again a year later, this time a semi-final atVilla Park, which Chelsea won 1–0. In a game with "frighteningly ruthless" tackling, Leeds goalkeeperGary Sprake kicked Chelsea midfielderJohn Boyle in the face as they challenged for a high ball, a grudge which still remained when the teams met in the FA Cup final three years later.^[19] Further controversy came when Leeds had two late goals disallowed; aTerry Cooper strike was ruled out for offside, and a long rangePeter Lorimer goal was disallowed because a free kick had been taken too quickly.^[20] Opinions on the offside decision were mixed, although Docherty conceded he would not have complained had the second goal been allowed to stand.^[21] Six months later, Leeds gained revenge by beating managerless Chelsea (Docherty had resigned the previous day) 7–0 atElland Road, their biggest ever win in the fixture.^[22]

The clubs met six times during the1969–70 season. Leeds won both league games, 2–0 at Elland Road and 5–2 at Stamford Bridge. The match at Elland Road on 20 September 1969 continued in the same vein as previous encounters. AYorkshire Post journalist lamented the many "late and early tackles" and condemned the teams for playing "venomously". During the matchAllan Clarke,Jack Charlton,David Webb,Peter Houseman,Ron Harris andAlan Birchenall all suffered injuries that ruled them out of subsequent matches.^[23] Chelsea gained a measure of revenge by knocking Leeds out of theLeague Cup after a replay. The teams also met in the1970 FA Cup Final, the game which cemented the rivalry.

Chelsea and Leeds contested the FA Cup final atWembley on 11 April 1970. Leeds were generally regarded as the better team on the day^{[by whom?]} and led twice but a late Chelsea equaliser fromIan Hutchinson took the game to a replay, the first in an FA Cup final since1912. The replay atOld Trafford attracted a UK television audience of 28 million, making it the sixth most-watched television broadcast in British history.^[24] It is regarded as one of the dirtiest football matches ever.^[1][2] Harris was detailed to mark Wembley Man of the MatchEddie Gray; a series of Harris fouls during the first half effectively immobilised the Scot. Elsewhere, Charlton kneed and headbutted Osgood, Hunter and Hutchinson traded punches, andEddie McCreadie flattenedBilly Bremner with a "kung fu" challenge. Bonetti was injured after being bundled into the net by Jones and limped through the rest of the match with a heavily bandaged knee.

Modern day refereeDavid Elleray reviewed the match years later and concluded that he would have issued six red cards and twenty yellow cards.^[25] However, refereeEric Jennings booked only one player – Hutchinson – over the two games.Hugh McIlvanney wrote that "at times it appeared that Mr Jennings would give a free kick only on production of a death certificate".^[26]Mick Jones put Leeds ahead again, but Osgood equalised with 12 minutes remaining and Chelsea eventually prevailed 2–1 after extra time. Charlton was so angry at the loss that he left the pitch without collecting his runners-up medal.^[27] Charlton later said: "It wasn't the losing of the game, it was the losing of the game toChelsea, because there were never two more competitive sides when we played each other over a period of four or five years."^[28] The match has been cited as one of the greatest FA Cup finals.^[29]

The animosity continued into the 1970s.Geoffrey Green ofThe Times reported that a hard-fought 0–0 draw at Stamford Bridge in December 1971 at times "more resembled someMafia vendetta than football".^[30] A crowd of 51,000 (with a further 9,000 locked out) watched a 4–0 Chelsea win over Leeds in the opening match of the1972–73 season. The match was "marred by a string of infringements";Trevor Cherry,Chris Garland andTerry Yorath were all booked, and Leeds lostDavid Harvey and Mick Jones to injury.^[31] Crowd trouble and pitch invasions led Chelsea to erect wire fences around the terraces.^[32]

By the end of the 1970s both clubs were in decline, and spent many of the ensuing years in the Second Division. Chelsea were relegated in 1975 and again in 1979. Leeds were relegated in 1982, and did not regain their First Division status for eight years. No longer challenging for trophies (but frequently competing for promotion), the rivalry often continued off the pitch in the form of hooliganism. When the teams met in the Second Division in the1982–83 season, their first match forfour seasons, 153 Leeds and Chelsea hooligans were arrested after fighting broke out atPiccadilly Circus tube station on theLondon Underground, and another 60 were arrested at the match itself.^[33] In April 1984, when Chelsea beat Leeds 5–0 to clinch promotion to the First Division, Chelsea fans invaded the pitch several times, and Leeds fans smashed up the Stamford Bridge scoreboard. Clashes between rival fans resulted in 41 arrests.^[34] More recently, before a Chelsea-Leeds match in 2002, the Leeds managerDavid O'Leary urged fans to behave after recent crowd trouble at other matches^[35] although stricter policing and the introduction ofCCTV in grounds and all-seater stadia in the 1990s reduced crowd trouble at matches.

Both clubs enjoyed another revival in the 1990s, which coincided with a series of "ill-tempered and highly-charged" clashes as "the mutual loathing that characterized these sides three decades ago...resurfaced."^[36] In an "X-rated" 0–0 draw in December 1997, eight players were booked and Leeds had two players –Gary Kelly andAlfie Haaland – sent off.^[37] Martin Lipton called the match "a throwback to the worst excesses of the Revie era when the likes of Chopper Harris kicked lumps out of Johnny Giles and Co."^[38] Another 0–0 draw in October 1998 resulted in 12 yellow cards and a red card for Chelsea'sFrank Leboeuf.^[39] In a 2–0 Leeds win at Stamford Bridge in December 1999, Leeds'sLee Bowyer was booked a minute into the game and Leboeuf was again sent off.^[40] A bad tempered League Cup fourth round match in November 2001 – their first cup clash since 1970 – saw Chelsea win 2–0, withEiður Guðjohnsen scoring a goal whileStephen McPhail was on the ground injured.Graeme Le Saux was later stretchered off after being hit in the face byAlan Smith.^[41]

The clubs did not meet in the league after Leeds's relegation from thePremier League in the2003–04 season until their promotion from theEFL Championship in the2019–20. Their last meeting before this period took place on 15 May 2004, with Chelsea winning 1–0.^[42] The animosity between the clubs was still expressed in the hostility of Leeds fans to the club being taken over by former Chelsea owner and chairmanKen Bates,^[43] and to the appointment of former Chelsea captainDennis Wise as manager in 2006,^[44][45] resulting in chants like "Get the Chelsea out of Leeds."^[46]Gus Poyet, another former Chelsea player who served as Wise's assistant at Leeds, later commented that "the fans didn't want us there because of the rivalry with Chelsea."^[47]

The clubs were drawn to play each other in theLeague Cup in December 2012 at Elland Road, which was the first competitive meeting between them in eight years. After a goal by Leeds strikerLuciano Becchio which put the West Yorkshire side ahead in the first half, Chelsea responded by scoring five in the second half, to win 5–1.^[48] Due to police concerns over potential crowd trouble, Chelsea were allocated only 3000 tickets rather than the usual 5000.^[49] The match drew a gate of 33,816, Leeds's highest attendance for two years.^[50]

The clubs met again in the2020–21 Premier League season following Leeds's promotion from the Championship. Their first match ended 3–1 to Chelsea, and the reverse fixture ended in a 0–0 draw at Elland Road.

The two teams' encounter in the2022–23 Premier League ended in a 3–0 win to Leeds at Elland Road, their first win against Chelsea since 2002.^[51]

• Leeds United 7–0 Chelsea (7 October 1967)

Six months after the heated FA Cup semi-final atVilla Park, Leeds notched their biggest ever win over Chelsea. Chelsea entered the match in turmoil, their managerTommy Docherty having resigned the day before.Albert Johanneson opened the scoring after five minutes and Leeds were 3–0 up within 14 minutes thanks to further goals fromJimmy Greenhoff andJack Charlton.Peter Lorimer put Leeds 4–0 ahead by half-time. After the break,Eddie Gray beat Bonetti from outside the area,Marvin Hinton scored anown goal and Leeds captainBilly Bremner capped his man of the match performance by scoring the seventh himself.^[52]

• Chelsea 5–0 Leeds United (28 April 1984)

In theSecond Division,John Neal's high-flying Chelsea met mid-table Leeds, managed byEddie Gray and fielding two survivors from the1970 FA Cup Final,David Harvey andPeter Lorimer, knowing a win would secure promotion to theFirst Division for the first time since 1979. In Chelsea's first win over Leeds since 1972, wingerMickey Thomas put Chelsea ahead,Kerry Dixon scored a "perfect" hat-trick andPaul Canoville completed the win with a goal in stoppage time. At the end of the match Chelsea fans invaded the pitch, while Leeds fans trashed the scoreboard.^[34]

• Leeds United 1–5 Chelsea (19 December 2012)

Chelsea and Leeds' first game against each other in eight years was inLeague Cup quarter finals in the 2012–13 season. Chelsea were in thePremier League at this time and Leeds were in the Championship. Chelsea ran out winners after going behind to aLuciano Becchio goal eight minutes before half time, howeverJuan Mata's goal one minute after half time set Chelsea on their way to the last four.Branislav Ivanović,Victor Moses,Eden Hazard andFernando Torres wrapped up victory for the Blues.^[53]

• Leeds United 3–0 Chelsea (21 August 2022)

Leeds’ first victory against Chelsea since their return to the Premier League in 2020 was a memorable one as they continued their fine unbeaten start to the season with a crushing victory atElland Road. New summer signingBrenden Aaronson began the scoring as he capitalised on a mistake from Chelsea goalkeeper,Edouard Mendy. Soon after, Leeds went two in front after Spanish strikerRodrigo headed in aJack Harrison free kick. The two players combined again in the second half with Rodrigo teeing up Harrison to smash home from close-range to make it 3–0. Chelsea’s summer signingKalidou Koulibaly was sent off for a second bookable offence to complete Chelsea’s misery.^[54]

Chelsea's traditional kit of Royal Blue and white

Leeds' traditional all-white kit

As of 28 February 2024

• Biggest win:
  • Chelsea 7–1 Leeds United (Saturday 16 March 1935)
  • Leeds United 7–0 Chelsea (Saturday 7 October 1967)

As of 13 July 2025

There have been few direct playertransfers between Chelsea and Leeds United. The first came in 1991, when left-backTony Dorigo moved from Chelsea to Leeds for £1.3 million. Chelsea have never bought a senior player from Leeds, although they did controversially sign Leeds youth playersTom Taiwo andMichael Woods in 2006.^[55]Duncan McKenzie,Mickey Thomas,Vinnie Jones,Mikael Forssell,Terry Phelan,David Hopkin,David Rocastle,Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink,Tore André Flo andPatrick Bamford have also played for both clubs. Additionally, three former Chelsea players have managed Leeds;George Graham,Terry Venables andDennis Wise.

• Chelsea F.C.
• Leeds United F.C.
• Football derbies in England

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