Gustavo Poyet booked Chelsea a £20million ticket to Europe with his 13th goal
of the season.
The Uruguayan international settled a frantic Premeirship clash with an
unstoppable header in the 68th minute.
Leeds keeper Nigel Martyn had threatened to block their route with some
inspired goalkeeping.
But Poyet's goal was enough and the three points put Chelsea out of reach of
Leeds in the Premiership race and secured them a place in the new-look
Champions' League starting next season.
With the championship being sorted out elsewhere in England, this had been
dubbed a third-place play-off but neither side set about things with an
end-of-competition feel.
Third is Chelsea's best position since 1970, when they finished a place behind
Leeds, in the days when physical on-pitch battles between these two clubs
amounted to something of a sporting soap opera.
More recent meetings of Chelsea and Leeds have served-up plenty of the same
fire with three sendings off and 23 yellow cards in the previous two games.
Frank Leboeuf saw red at Elland Road during the goalless draw in October and,
last season at Stamford Bridge, Alf-Inge Haaland and Gary Kelly got their
marching orders.
With Dennis Wise and David Batty snarling away in the centre of a greasy
Stamford Bridge pitch, this never threatened to be different.
Both sets of players launched themselves into full-blooded tackles from
word-go.
The prize at stake was a lucrative Champions' League place and ref Jeff Winter
had to be on his mettle.
Jody Morris, Dennis Wise and Lucas Radebe were all booked in a frenzied first
half.
By the time Jonathon Woodgate followed them into the book for a second-half
foul on Leboeuf, David O'Leary and Gianluca Vialli couldn't resist a touchline
exchange.
They were kept apart by fourth official Rob Harris, still reeling from his
weekend encounter West Ham's Ian Wright at Upton Park.
Wise caused a stir, midway through the first half, when a mistimed tackle on
Lee Bowyer took him sliding into the Leeds dug-out where a quick wrestle was
follwed with a peck on the cheek for Leeds coach Eddie Gray.
The Chelsea skipper promptly collected his eighth yellow card of the season to
go with his four red.
In between the shuddering challenges, however, the players proved why they
will both be flying the flag in Europe next term.
Martyn was in dominant form for visitors, coming to the rescue more than once
as Chelsea opened more positively.
The England keeper parried a Poyet shot in the 15th minute after his initial
punch failed to clear the danger. Gianfranco Zola couldn't keep the rebound
down.
Then, Martyn made light work of a Morris shot after neat link-up play between
Poyet and Tore Andre Flo.
Dan Petrescu carried the ball 50 yards, after pouncing on the scraps of a
Radebe tackle on Flo, and found Albert Ferrer on the overlap.
The Spaniard's cross was met by Poyet but Woodgate timed his tackle to
perfection. Morris pounced on the ricochet but fired just wide.
Leeds took time to settle but once they did they started to break menacingly
from defence.
Haaland rattled a snap-shot inches wide and Stephen McPhail couldn't force a
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink cross on target.
Martyn made a terrific left-handed save to turn Flo's effort from 10 yards
round the post but he had his defenders to thank from the resulting corner as
the Blues turned up the heat.
Leboeuf flicked Wise's kick on and Poyet's effort was cleared from the line by
Haaland. Desailly turned the ball goalward in the ensuing scramble but Batty was
back on the line to clear again.
A flying save from Martyn plucked a Flo header from the air in the closing
moments of the first half and, after the break, Poyet planted a free-header over
from a Wise corner.
Ed de Goey saved long range efforts from Bowyer and Harry Kewell before Poyet
pounced to break the deadlock.
The goal came moments after Bjarne Goldbaek replaced Morris, allowing the big
Uruguayan to slot into his favourite central midfield position.
Poyet had only just joined Wise in the centre when he timed his run perfectly
to meet Le Saux's left-wing cross with a thumping header.
Teams:
Chelsea: De Goey, Ferrer, Desailly, Leboeuf, Le Saux, Petrescu,
Wise, Morris (Goldbaek 66), Poyet, Zola (Forssell 89),Flo (Di Matteo 82).
Subs Not Used: Duberry, Hitchcock.
Booked: Wise, Morris, Petrescu.
Goals: Poyet 68.
Leeds: Martyn, Haaland, Woodgate, Radebe, Harte, Bowyer, Batty,
McPhail (Hopkin 86), Kewell, Smith, Hasselbaink.
Subs Not Used: Wetherall, Wijnhard, Halle, Robinson.
Booked: Radebe, Woodgate.
Att: 34,762
Ref: J Winter (Stockton-on-Tees).
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