Leeds will go to Old Trafford on Saturday as unbeaten leaders but still struggling to look the part. A point was enough to restore David O'Leary's side to the top of the English Premiership table yesterday yet Chelsea often appeared the classier team in a scoreless but eventful encounter.
Claudio Ranieri's squad included four of the six who had opted to miss the UEFA Cup match against Hapoel in Tel-Aviv because of tensions in Israel. One of those who had stayed behind, Emmanuel Petit, was outstanding.
By half-time another, Graeme le Saux, had turned himself into a one-man war zone. Never one to hold back from a challenge, he planted a set of studs into Robbie Keane's groin on the quarter-hour and compounded this by flying in two-footed on Danny Mills late in the half.
The referee, Paul Durkin, consulted his assistant before showing a yellow card. At this O'Leary gave the linesman a mouthful which continued as the players left the field. As a result the Leeds manager was banished to the stands by Durkin, who should have dismissed le Saux but otherwise controlled this often ill-disciplined fixture well.
Not that it spared Durkin further criticism from O'Leary afterwards. "I thought it (Le Saux's tackle) was disgraceful," he complained. "This referee hasn't sent anyone off this season but there are times when you have to be a real referee and not just hand out yellow cards for bits and pieces.
"I lost my temper and I'm ashamed of that," O'Leary admitted, "but I didn't use foul or abusive language to the referee."
Ranieri thought Le Saux's challenge was a bit strong but carried no ill intent. That incident apart, the match was good-humoured although it was probably just as well Le Saux's tackle was followed immediately by half-time.
While Leeds made out a stronger case for victory, drawing several agile saves from the restored Mark Bosnich and seeing two shots cleared off the line, their opponents were well worth the point which steadily became a more attractive option for Ranieri's players.
Petit was the Petit of his Arsenal period, breaking up Leeds's movements before they could gather momentum, curbing Olivier Dacourt and frequently turning defence into attack. Had Petit's swinging 35-yard free-kick won the game in stoppage time, when Nigel Martyn managed to push the ball against the crossbar, it would have been an apt reward for an outstanding performance.
Yet while Chelsea dominated much of the match territorially, Leeds created more clear-cut chances. With 20 minutes remaining Viduka met Ian Harte's cross with a forceful downward header only for Bosnich to make a stretching save. And when an aberrant back pass from Gallas let in Alan Smith, the Leeds substitute, five minutes from the end the striker was thwarted first by the Chelsea goalkeeper and then, when he tried to score from the rebound, John Terry's goal-line clearance.
LEEDS: Martyn, Mills, Ferdinand, Matteo, Harte, Bowyer, Bakke, Dacourt, Kewell, Keane (Smith 76), Viduka. Subs Not Used: Robinson, Kelly, Woodgate, Johnson. Booked: Bakke, Dacourt.
CHELSEA: Bosnich, Babayaro (Zenden 62), Terry, Melchiot, Le Saux, Gallas, Lampard, Petit, Dalla Bona, Hasselbaink, Gudjohnsen (Forssell 87). Subs Not Used: Evans, Ferrer, Zola. Booked: Petit, Dalla Bona, Le Saux.
Referee: P Durkin (Dorset).
