USMNT star Aaronson hits ‘dream’ goal for Leeds vs Chelsea in massive victory

Leeds midfielder Brenden Aaronson says it was a “dream come true” to have opened his Premier League goal account, with the American given a helping hand by Edouard Mendy when netting in a 3-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday. The Blues goalkeeper put a historic effort for the 21-year-old playmaker on a plate at Elland Road as he dwelled on the ball and saw his pocket picked by an energetic rival.

Jesse Marsch’s side built on that platform to collect three points in style, extending their unbeaten start to the 2022-23 campaign, and Aaronson is loving life in the English top-flight.

Aaronson's impact at Leeds?

Questions were asked through Leeds’ opening two fixtures of whether the USMNT star could adapt his game to meet the demands of the Premier League, but he silenced any doubters in style against Chelsea and told Sky Sports afterwards: “I've dreamed about this for a long time and it's a dream come true and it shows how much progress we have made.”

Aaronson’s work rate contributed to Leeds running 11km further than the Blues over the course of 90 minutes, with Marsch’s message – which is similar to that of predecessor Marcelo Bielsa – getting through. “It shows who wanted it more,” added Aaronson.

“The crowd got us pumped up and everyone was driven.”

A nightmare. pic.twitter.com/0oQjaLtRpK

— GOAL (@goal) August 21, 2022

Are Leeds making progress under Marsch?

The Whites have taken seven points from three games, with the only blot on their copybook coming when surrendering a two-goal lead against Southampton.

Marsch’s men came close to slipping out of the Premier League last season, as they secured survival on the final day, but they are now looking to kick on under an American coach who expects his team to always give their all.

Marsch told Sky Sports of proving too strong for top-four hopefuls Chelsea: “It was a complete performance.

“We had a few different plans on what they [Chelsea] would look like and the guys did a good job of adjusting. We wanted to play with aggression but controlled and we accomplished our goals.

“From the first moment I came here I saw this was a special team. This [win] should mean hunger for us to want to improve.

“Our goal is never to be out-run or out-worked but also to add to not being out-fought and if we can add these things together we can build something. You can see it coming together almost right before our eyes. It's a good sign but there's still so much more to do.”