Having moved to within touching distance of Premier League safety when they beat Nottingham Forest last month, three points from their last five games could be raising a few jitters among the Leeds supporters. But they were celebrating with Daniel Farke and his players at full time after earning a point that the German predicted could turn out to be “priceless” in the end.
Had Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted from the spot in the first half after Will Hughes gifted them a penalty then the celebrations in the away end would have been even louder. Up until that point, Leeds had been the much better side as Crystal Palace again struggled against their physical approach.
However, the sending off of Gabriel Gudmundsson after a comical moment when the referee, Thomas Bramall, forgot that the Sweden defender had already been cautioned, changed the complexion of the game. A toothless Palace still couldn’t make their advantage count as they were held to a stalemate at home for the second time in four days and left the field to a few boos again.
Leeds dug in and deservedly emerged with a share of the points, even if Brennan Johnson – who was lucky to escape being shown a red card of his own – was offside by a matter of millimetres in setting up Jefferson Lerma.
“It was another day when I trust these players with my life because i can always count on them,” said a delighted Farke, who also described them as “heroes”.
Oliver Glasner prioritised Palace’s trip to Elland Road in December over their Conference League commitments but his first-choice side were promptly thumped 4-1. This time with the trip to Cyprus in the second leg of their last-16 tie on Thursday in mind, he gave Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada a rest and handed Hughes the captain’s armband in the absence of Dean Henderson.
That meant a first Premier League start for Walter Benítez, whose last appearance came in the now infamous FA Cup defeat by non-league Macclesfield, and the Argentina goalkeeper had a busy first half.
While Evann Guessand almost made Karl Darlow pay for dawdling over a back pass in the third minute, the tone for an ill-tempered game was set when Pascal Struijk hacked down the Ivory Coast forward soon after. Brendan Aaronson directed his shot just wide after Ismaila Sarr misjudged a header before Calvert-Lewin saw two headers from corners saved by Benítez, with replays showing that the majority of the ball had crossed the line on the first. By contrast, Palace looked lethargic after their exertions in midweek and created largely nothing despite Guessand’s best efforts.
The real drama was reserved for injury time in the first half. Leeds were awarded a penalty when Hughes inexplicably handled inside the area but Calvert-Lewin could only drag his effort well wide of the target. Then, after Jake Bijol had escaped a second caution for bringing down Sarr and both Glasner and Farke were shown yellow cards in the ensuing melee, Gudmundsson took out the Senegal forward a minute later. Bramall booked him before he eventually realised his mistake after being reminded by Sarr. The Palace defender, Jaydee Canvot, pumped his fist in delight when the red card finally came out.
“Within two minutes, it seems like the whole world is against you,” admitted Farke, who felt the challenge didn’t warrant a caution. “But it was another proof why when this club is united and you show this mentality, then we can overcome all adversity.”
Given how they have struggled against a low block in the Conference League, Canvot should have known that playing against 10 men would be no guarantee of a Palace victory. They continued to look devoid of ideas as Leeds sat in their shape and waited for the mistakes that came regularly.
Glasner’s decision to withdraw the ineffective Jørgen Strand Larsen for Jean-Philippe Mateta was again greeted with boos, although perhaps mainly due to its negativity this time rather than any lingering grievances against the France striker.
“We are not the biggest goalscoring machine in the Premier League. It is an issue, we know,” said Glasner. “But to me it feels [we are] a little bit nervous. We want to score because we are one player up and we are taking bad decisions and losing our structure. We have to stay calm and wait for the right moments.”
The change at least gave Palace new impetus as Mateta forced Darlow into a full-stretch save after Sarr’s cross was diverted off his chest before – to Farke’s relief – Struijk’s headed clearance shaved his own crossbar. Johnson got away with a second yellow card for tripping James Justin and the Leeds fans made their feelings clear to Bramall. They had a point.
Palace looked like they could have played for another two hours and still not found a way past Darlow. Glasner must find a way of inspiring his players ahead of another long week.
