When you are riding high in fifth place and coming off the back of beating Newcastle 4-1 under the lights, it is hard not to expect an emphatic victory against a side digging itself out of an early-season rut like Crystal Palace. But Sunday two o’clock Sky Sports matches are fast becoming our kryptonite, turning into slumber afternoons if this start to the season is anything to go by.
There’s the top of the world tearing Newcastle to shreds on Monday, and then there’s falling apart to Chelsea. This match sat somewhere in the murky middle. Nothing interesting happened, and nothing disastrous came of it. Neither side truly looked like scoring; instead, we were treated to a masterclass in drawing blanks.
It’s hard to swallow, but Crystal Palace actually had the more threatening opportunities, keeping James Trafford fairly busy with heart-stopping moments as the ball zipped across his goal. They passed and moved fluidly down the wings and brought far more physicality to the tackles. Palace played like a cohesive unit ready to scrap for every tackle. Daniel Farke, predictably, dismissed the sluggishness as just one of those things that happens in the Premier League.
Leeds had only one real big chance in the second half when a ball in from James Justin found Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but DCL couldn’t convert. For the rest of the match, Palace simply headed our corners away. It was painfully clear that the squad wasn’t clicking—when the long ball went up to DCL, he was stranded on an island with no one to lay it off to.
After a forgettable first half with absolutely nothing to rouse the Elland Road crowd, the game finally woke up early in the second half—mostly because Palace put the ball in the back of the net. For once, VAR rode to our rescue, ruling out the 52nd-minute goal. That disallowed goal acted as a smelling salt for the fans, who suddenly roared the players on to find a winner. But when DCL didn’t bury his big chance, you could feel the air leave the stadium; Leeds had blown it. We spent the rest of the half groaning as players kept coughing up possession and transitions broke down with uncharacteristic passes.
We were too slow on the ball, lacking any natural playmaking spark. When Brenden Aaronson and Daniel James were brought on in the 66th and 67th minutes to inject some life, they were immediately crowded out with no support around them.
Still, we have to count the small mercies. It’s another clean sheet, another point to keep us fifth in the Premier League table, and it keeps our lengthy unbeaten home record intact.
Gabriel Gudmundsson and Noah Okafor tried to use their pace on the left but just couldn’t get the right cross into DCL. On the right, Jayden Bogle and James Justin could never really get out of first gear. Ao Tanaka had a couple of half-chances as Leeds forced corners but ultimately fluffed his lines. However, Tarik Muharemovic has proven to be an epic summer signing. He executed some world-class defensive tackles—including a perfectly timed diving challenge on Jørgen Strand Larsen—and rightfully picked up the official Player of the Match award.
Man of the Match: James Trafford. A vital clean sheet, and incredibly reliable with his saves when we needed him most.
