“I am very proud of my players and just have compliments for them for such a fight back. It was, of course, a difficult game here at Chelsea.
“As a newly promoted side to have to come here and have to play in a game with several key players out, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Anton Stach, Pascal Struijk, more or less our whole backbone of the team missing.
“And the quality that Chelsea has, if you then go 2-0 down of course can be also sometimes a long night but our players we have this never say die attitude. We always have this self-belief that whatever happens we always can come back.
“Even after the 2-2, I got the feeling the momentum was a bit on our side and perhaps we could turn the game completely.
“In the last few minutes, we had to suffer a lot because Chelsea were throwing everything at us and also in one scene, we need a bit of luck because obviously also a big chance.
“Of course, it was not the plan to be 2-0 down and I was hoping for a better result at this moment but nevertheless the game plan was really like in the last 20-30 minutes to win the point. All credit goes to my players to be able to make it happen and to earn a very priceless point for us.”
Leeds Fans enjoyed that Equaliser #LUFC pic.twitter.com/7lZ7VNFLgh
— Blackladtravel (@blackladtravel) February 10, 2026
Noah Okafor said, per the club website: “I think it is an incredible feeling to get a point here. We knew it would be a difficult game.
“And when you are in an away game, 2-0 behind, you turn it around, it is just like a big hug to the whole team, to every player, also to the fans.
“They were from the first second behind our back. We see the amazing fans travel and support us with this energy. This helped us a lot. So, we did everything. And in the end, we got ourselves a point.
“For sure three points would be better but this is football and I was happy to help the team with the goal. Now, we just have to continue like this.
“It is a huge result when it comes to the battle to stay away from the relegation zone. Every game is intense, every game is difficult in this league and we take it game by game.
“We are in good shape and the mood in the team is very good, so we have to keep this up and go hard every day.”
Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior speaking to TNT Sports: “I don’t want to talk about the football that we played. If we want to improve and get to where we want to be, we have to make sure we’re switched on for 90 minutes. It’s as simple as that.
“Devastated because some of the football we played was excellent. We should come away with three points and we haven’t because two of moments in the game we haven’t taken care of. We gifted Leeds a point.”
On Leeds’ goals: “I don’t know if we need to make the challenge for the penalty. But even at 2-1, we need to take the sting out of the game. Whether we think it is handball, we are still in control of the situation. You kick the ball away and ask for handball after. These are small points moments that have cost us three points today.
Did he think it was handball in the build up to Noah Okafor’s goal?: “At the time I did. I still haven’t seen it. The rule is if there is any contact with his hand, it should be disallowed.
“From my understanding, if there is any handball in the build-up to the goal, it should be disallowed. They (VAR) need to help the referee.”
Joao Pedro said, per the club website: ‘We are very frustrated because I think we started the game very well,. We controlled the game at 1-0 and 2-0, but in the end, we conceded. This season has been like this.
‘I think we have to be more consistent and more focused, and kill the game, but today it happened again. We need to look at ourselves to see where we can improve.
‘When things like this happen, where we could win the game – I had a chance, Cole had a chance – I think it’s just not our day. We need to be focused to try to win the game.
‘I think we need to be more consistent. If you want to achieve the Champions League and top four, you cannot drop points like this.’
‘We need to clear the ball. If you wait and get too many people around the ball, that can happen. It’s difficult. Today we played a great game, but we need to be more focused. We can’t concede like this.
‘I just try to improve every day in the training sessions, and I think now I have shown on the pitch what I‘m capable of doing, but I think I still have a lot to improve.’