Crystal Palace’s tough week was made worse by a 4-1 defeat at Leeds, who were six points clear of the bottom three, after manager Oliver Glasner’s decision to give his first team a midweek rest backfired.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin was once again the star of the show, scoring a superb first-half double and scoring in five consecutive league games, tying the longest streak by a Leeds player in Premier League history.
But Palace, who have already qualified for the Conference League play-offs and lost 3-0 to Man City last weekend, continued their dismal post-European form at the worst possible time, with a potential nine games to play in 36 days. It will be even more infuriating for Glasner considering he made 11 changes from the 10-man KuPS holding team 48 hours ago.
A visibly furious Palace manager Glasner told Sky Sports: “It’s embarrassing and we couldn’t match their physicality. This is the first game we deserved to lose. The result is fine.”
“I don’t know what percentage of duels we won today, but we lost all the balls, especially on attack.
“We won one one-on-one duel, but we got a penalty at the end. We didn’t show the basics today and I thought we could play a little bit of football and pass the ball, but we didn’t have a chance in the duel. And we end up losing every game.”
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Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner says:
Calvert-Lewin continued to insist he might be back to his best with the striker’s finishing and had Leeds in full control before the break, first converting a long throw to convert the rebound of his first-time shot.
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Dominic Calvert-Lewin gives Leeds the lead in their Premier League match against Crystal Palace.
His second was equally instinctive, betting on the back post and seconds before the break when Xhaka Biyor flicked another throw in to send a header past Dean Henderson.
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Dominic Calvert-Lewin doubled Leeds’ lead before half-time against Crystal Palace with a classic header at the far post.
Palace showed no signs of being inspired by Glasner’s half-time team talk and re-emerged from the interval similarly ineffective, but it took until the hour mark for Leeds to pay the price again with even more shoddy defending.
The visitors switched off from another set-piece when a half-clear corner kick was returned into the area, allowing the ball to bounce inside their own box before Ethan Ampadu slotted home to slot home the third goal.
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Home team then leads by 3 points
The only thing Leeds could hope for at this point was the elusive clean sheet, their first since August 30th. But that proved to be too much to ask for in stoppage time as Justin Deveney gifted Palace a penalty and a point after Lucas Perrie brought down Crisstantus Uche in the box.
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Justin Devennie converted a penalty during Crystal Palace’s Premier League match against Leeds after Crisstantus Uche was brought down in the box.
But Leeds didn’t have time to dwell on the disappointment as Anton Stach converted a stunning free-kick with virtually the last kick of the game, capping Leeds’ best night since returning to the Premier League.
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Leeds midfielder Anton Stach took a free-kick over the wall and into the corner against Crystal Palace.
Calvert-Lewin: My faith never wavered.
Sky Sports Man of the Match Dominic Calvert-Lewin:
“Inside the six-yard box, that’s where I need to be. When you’re in a good moment and you get a run, the ball starts falling for you and that’s where I’m at now.
“Belief hasn’t changed. Belief in myself is something I’ve always had. But once you start hitting the back of the net, it pays off in a different way.
“Nothing has changed for me. I just want to do my best for the team every week and continue to perform well.”
Coach Glasner vows to change approach to set pieces
Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner said on Sky Sports:
“To be honest, this is the fourth game in the last few weeks that we have lost from a set piece. We have to change that and we will talk to the staff about it.”
“I have a responsibility. We have to set up the team better. Against Strasbourg we lost on a set piece, against Man United we conceded two goals from a set piece and Arsenal scored one in the second phase of a free kick.
“Something has to change. Once that happens, maybe twice, but not four times.”
Falke: I was nervous until the last moment!
Leeds head coach Daniel Farke told Sky Sports:
“We are playing the best away team in the league, with 16 points from eight away games and only five conceded.
“It was a very complicated game. Today we played a bit of a hybrid formation, five players without the ball and four players with the ball (at the back).
“We need to keep the players switched on so they can make the right decisions.
“I was always nervous until the last moment, because that’s football. We conceded a penalty and they had another chance, but strange things happen in football.”
