Leeds United 0–0 Crystal Palace: A Stalemate at Elland Road
Elland Road has seen its share of chaos and late drama under Daniel Farke. This was not one of those afternoons. A cagey, bitty 0–0, with two blunt attacks and two organised backlines cancelling each other out.
Leeds run out of ideas
Leeds were strangely lifeless. Farke’s side, usually crisp and inventive in possession, mustered just two shots on target and rarely looked like breaking Palace open.
Most of their promise came down the left. Gabriel Gudmundsson and Noah Okafor combined well enough, driving into space and asking questions of the full-back, but there was no real cutting edge at the end of it. The moves fizzled out. The final ball never quite arrived.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin spent long stretches isolated, feeding on hopeful balls and half-chances. Service into him was minimal, and when it finally did come, he squandered Leeds’ moment.
James Justin bent in a superb cross after the interval, Calvert-Lewin peeled away and met it from just a few yards out. It should have been the winner. Instead, Walter Benitez stood tall, spread himself and blocked from point-blank range. Calvert-Lewin, unmarked and so close in, will know he had to do better.
The lack of punch in the final third forced Farke into a rethink. He moved to a back four after the break, chasing more control and more bodies in attacking areas. The tweak never really bit. Leeds pushed, but Palace grew. As the minutes ticked by, it was the visitors who looked more likely to steal the game.
Farke, though, was content to bank the clean sheet and the unbeaten run, even if this felt like two points dropped rather than one gained.
Muharemovic leads by example
That the most dangerous Leeds player was a centre-back said plenty about the afternoon.
Tarik Muharemovic let fly more often than anyone else on the pitch, with four efforts, all from set pieces. Corners and free-kicks became Leeds’ main route to goal, and Muharemovic attacked them with conviction.
He was again a standout performer. Defensively solid, dominant in the air, and a constant presence at dead balls, he extended a fine start to the season. In Fantasy Premier League terms, he remains flawless: one assist, two clean sheets and six defensive contribution (DefCon) points across five matches, without a single blank.
Leeds go into the international break having conceded only three goals in five Gameweeks, the joint-best record in the division alongside Everton. The structure is there. The discipline is there. The problem sits at the other end of the pitch.
“Dominic had an excellent chance in the second half and sometimes you want to take a dirty one-nil,” Farke said afterwards. “But I’m quite happy with the clean sheet and to extend our unbeaten run.”
Stach still finds a way
Anton Stach did not hit his usual levels. His set pieces, normally a weapon, were off. Corners drifted too long, free-kicks failed to clear the first man. It summed up Leeds’ wastefulness from promising positions.
Yet he still found a way to make his presence count.
Operating higher up the pitch, often just behind Calvert-Lewin, Stach pressed, harried and got through enough defensive work to trigger DefCon points in the late Opta update. It was the third time in five matches he has hit that threshold.
Across the opening five Gameweeks, he now sits second among midfielders for total DefCon points with 61, trailing only Brentford’s Vitaly Janelt. Even on an off-day with the ball, his work rate and positioning continue to pay statistical dividends.
Palace tighten up and grow in belief
For Palace, this felt like a step forward. Before arriving at Elland Road, they had shipped 11 goals in four matches. Their back line looked brittle, their shape too easy to play through.
Here, they were organised, compact and far more aggressive in their defending. The clean sheet was not just welcome; it was deserved.
They might even feel they should have left with more than a point. Tyrick Mitchell thought he had nicked it after the break, arriving to finish from an Anan Khalaili delivery, only for VAR to chalk it off for offside. The away end roared once, then groaned.
Daichi Kamada found pockets between the lines and used them well. He drifted into space, turned and drove at Leeds, registering three shots and dragging one effort just wide of the post. His movement repeatedly asked questions of the Leeds midfield.
Pierre Sage saw exactly what he wanted from his side without the ball.
“I prefer to have the ball, and I think it’s the best way to defend,” he said. “But in this league, with our players, we have to be maybe more patient in our way of defending. That’s why we improved that last week. We showed that in our game on Thursday and today too. And we gave less space, less time to the opponent.
“I think it’s better. And the mindset is especially different, I think, to before, because we are more aggressive and more on the players. We go on quickly when the ball is on the side and that changes things. That’s why there’s a situation. And when you have this kind of problem, we resolve it for the moment. But we have to keep it, because doing it one game is easy – we need to do it every game.”
The message was clear: this cannot be a one-off.
Tomiyasu worry, Lerma steps in
There was one concern for Palace. Takehiro Tomiyasu did not emerge for the second half, forced off with a calf issue.
“He was injured in his calf. I think it’s not too serious, but it’s too much to play if you want,” Sage explained. “And I think it’s a good sign when a player says ‘I’m not able to play more because I’m not 100 percent’ – it’s a sign of honesty and I like this kind of thing.”
Jefferson Lerma dropped into the back line and did exactly what was required. He attacked aerial duels, defended his box and used the ball sensibly, adding another layer of steel to an already stubborn display.
“All the four players who played in this position and that’s why I think we made this kind of performance, because when the defenders are good defensively and offensively we can play and we can cancel or prevent the chances of the opponent,” Sage added.
“He [Lerma] gave us what he’s able to give about his aggression, about his heading, especially defensively. He played well with the ball too, and I think it’s a good step for us because as I said on Thursday, if we win some players it will be better and better, because we will have more solutions.”
Palace leave with a clean sheet, a point and a blueprint. Leeds leave with their unbeaten run intact but a nagging question: can this defence-first platform carry them, or will the lack of cutting edge eventually drag them down?
