Leeds United show survival grit to earn huge Crystal Palace point despite referee controversy — YEP 15/3/26
By Kyle Newbould
Leeds United fought tooth and nail to earn a point at
Selhurst Park.
Ten-man Leeds United produced an outstanding defensive
performance to keep Crystal Palace at bay and earn a 0-0 draw away from home.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed a first-half penalty minutes
before Gabriel Gudmundsson’s controversial dismissal for a second yellow card,
with Leeds forced to play the entire second-half a man down. But with backs to
the wall they fought their way to an impressive point.
After rotating heavily against Norwich, Daniel Farke
returned to something more resembling his strongest line-up at Selhurst Park
with some bold changes. Lukas Nmecha started to the left of Calvert-Lewin while
Jaka Bijol returned to the back three, with Ilia Gruev and Jayden Bogle
dropping out.
Leeds looked a little shaky at the back early on with a
free-kick providing Palace an early opportunity which Brennan Johnson hit into
the wall. Brenden Aaronson then dragged a left-footed effort wide from inside
the box after Ismaila Sarr misjudged a looping ball.
Calvert-Lewin then directed a couple of headers goalwards -
from a Joe Rodon cross and a corner - but both were straight at goalkeeper
Walter Benitez. Replays showed the latter effort was millimetres from actually
crossing the line, with Benitez strangely behind it.
After a late first-half spell of pressure, Leeds had a
golden chance to score from the spot after a handball by Will Hughes. But after
sending Benitez the wrong way, Calvert-Lewin pulled his effort wide of the
left-hand post.
And to cap off a nightmare few minutes, Gudmundsson was
shown a hugely debatable second yellow card for a minor foul on the halfway
line. Referee Thomas Bramall seemingly forgot he’d booked the Swede earlier on
and after showing another yellow, was reminded by the Palace players.
Half-time changes spark defensive masterclass
Farke made two half-time changes, with Gruev and Bogle
replacing Aaronson and Nmecha. A 5-3-1 formation suggested containment was the
main objective for the second-half and Leeds defended their box well for long
periods.
The away side actually looked more dangerous heading beyond
the hour mark, with chances almost falling for Calvert-Lewin and James Justin.
The latter was then fouled by Johnson, already on a yellow, but he somewhat
fortunately escaped a second booking.
Palace had the ball in the net with 10 minutes to go,
Jefferson Lerma heading home after a brilliant Karl Darlow save initially. But
it was swiftly ruled out with Johnson offside after taking the corner and
receiving the ball back.
Stach then hit a sweet volley from just inside the Palace
box after a long throw but it was straight at Benitez, who claimed as the clock
ticked towards 90 minutes. Leeds stopped their hosts from registering a single
shot on target to keep it goalless and move on to 32 points for the season.
