Crystal Palace put on a sublime second-half performance as they produced one of the high-scoring football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. The hosts had Palace on the ropes until Marc Guehi poked in an equalizer (45+1) from a set-piece just before half-time after Patrick Bamford had put Leeds ahead with his 50th goal for the club. (21). Michael Olise assisted three of the next four goals scored by Jordan Ayew (53, 77), Eberechi Eze (55), and Odsonne Edouard for Roy Hodgson’s team. (69). Palace has moved up to 12th in the table after two wins in two matches under their new manager.
Leeds made a strong start to the game and caught Palace off guard at Elland Road, dominating the first half. Gracia’s team had 10 shots in the first period, their most in the Premier League this season. Within three minutes, Guehi’s weak clearing nearly cost his team, only for Luis Sinisterra to deflect his left-footed strike off target. Deputy custodian Sam Johnstone was Palace’s standout performance in the first half, making seven stops, including close-range saves on Sinisterra and Brenden Aaronson, but he couldn’t stop Bamford’s header after 20 minutes. The Leeds striker met Aaronson’s out-swinging corner and assisted it into the top corner for his 50th goal for the club.
Palace struggled to cause Leeds problems in open play, but there were warning signals from set pieces, with Jeffrey Schlupp and Ayew squandering chances. Guehi, on the other hand, was clinical when given the chance, equalizing shortly before the interval after Schlupp’s initial contact after Olise’s free kick. Following their stoppage-time equalizer, Palace exploded in the second half with two quick goals from Ayew and Eze, leaving Leeds chasing the game. This gave Palace the opportunity to strike on the break with Edouard and put the game out of reach.
Olise, 21, assisted all three of these goals in the space of 16 minutes, becoming the youngest player in Premier League history to create a hat-trick of goals from open play. Prior to Sunday, Ayew had only scored once this season. He added his second after cleaning up the pieces from substitute Will Hughes’ blocked shot. Leeds succumbed, but it was as a result of Palace’s flowing attacking display, which showed that they can cope without their injured talisman Wilfried Zaha, recording their first win this season without the Ivorian in the starting lineup. For Leeds, the second half will set alarm bells ringing ahead of a crucial month.
“All you can do as a coach is give individuals the confidence to perform what they see in training and not be swayed by the clamor outside when things don’t go your way,” Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson said. “It’s not a circumstance where you can wave a magic wand. It’s an excellent start. The training has been wonderful, and the weather has been beautiful. It’s great to be back. Everything has been perfect thus far, but I know that new days are ahead, and one day I’ll be answering quite different questions. I have to cherish these moments because they will not last forever.”
“It’s incredible that we had to finish like that after that first half. We dominated the first half and produced numerous opportunities. We may have won the game. Everything changed after we surrendered before halftime. We started poorly in the second half and did not perform properly,” Leeds head coach Javi Gracia said. “When we conceded the second goal, Palace took advantage of the open space. They have excellent players that can sprint, counter, and defend. Palace was quite difficult for us. We must be really dissatisfied because the second half was terrible, and the result is very difficult to accept. It’s only a game. We aim to have a positive attitude for the following game. There is only one way to proceed: work hard and attempt to understand why we conceded this outcome today, and then return to all of the things we’ve been doing well as quickly as possible. We’re working hard this week to be ready for the next game. I want to give the fans a better performance and outcome.”
For more football scores, click here
