Leeds United: Brenden Aaronson, Tyler Adams dominate Christian Pulisic’s Chelsea

Leeds United’s roaring start to their 2022-23 season continued Sunday, knocking off USMNT captain Christian Pulisic’s Chelsea, 3-0 at Elland Road, behind goals from Brenden Aaronson (ex-Philadelphia Union), Jack Harrison (ex-New York City FC) and Rodrigo.

The Whites’ starting XI also featured midfielder Tyler Adams (ex-New York Red Bulls), all arranged under former RBNY and CF Montréal manager Jesse Marsch. And it resulted in Leeds’ first win over Chelsea, 2021 UEFA Champions League winners, in nearly 20 years.

Marsch wasn’t surprised by the win or his team’s hot start to the Premier League campaign.

“The good thing about today is we didn’t need luck,” Marsch told NBC Sports. “I think we really had a clear match plan, that the guys played really well, that we looked confident, that we played aggressive, but that we also played with discipline. I think we can use this. We can use this to continue to push us to get better.”

Aaronson got the scoring started – and marked his first Premier League goal – in the 33rd minute when pressuring Chelsea goalkeeper Édouard Mendy into a botched bit of dribbling in his own penalty area. The Union homegrown product joined Leeds from RB Salzburg this summer for a reported $30 million, reuniting with Marsch after their time together in Austria.