Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Sport

Palace hand Leeds another heavy defeat

Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Leeds United - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - November 7, 2020 Crystal Palace's Andros Townsend in action with Leeds United's Ezgjan Alioski Pool via REUTERS/Glyn Kirk

Leeds United suffered another heavy defeat with a 4-1 reverse at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday.

Marcelo Bielsa's side, who were beaten by the same scoreline at home to Leicester City on Monday, slumped to 14th place with the loss while Palace moved up to sixth, on 13 points from eight games, just three points behind leaders Southampton.

Scott Dann headed Palace into a 12th minute lead with a thundering header from an Eberi Eze corner.

Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Leeds United - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - November 7, 2020 Crystal Palace's Jordan Ayew celebrates scoring their fourth goal with Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha Pool via REUTERS/Glyn Kirk

Leeds thought they had drawn level with a nice finish from Patrick Bamford but the effort was ruled out for a narrow offside by VAR.

After that let-off, Palace doubled their lead with a brilliant free kick from Eze, his first goal for the club, as he struck a 20-metre shot into the top corner.

Bamford did score with a confident drive after being set up by Polish midfielder Mateusz Klich's headed pass when he buried the ball in the bottom corner for his seventh goal of the campaign.

Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Leeds United - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - November 7, 2020 Leeds United's Raphinha shoots at goal from a free kick Pool via REUTERS/Glyn Kirk

But Palace restored their two-goal advantage just before the interval when Helder Costa's sliding tackle deflected a low cross from Wifried Zaha inside the near post, confounding Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier.

Zaha also had a hand in Palace's fourth, running at the Leeds defence before slipping the ball to Jordan Ayew who made no mistake.

Leeds have conceded 17 goals this season, more than any other team in the league, an issue Bielsa must urgently address.

Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Leeds United - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - November 7, 2020 Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa Pool via REUTERS/Naomi Baker

Palace boss Roy Hodgson was understandably pleased with a rare goal feast from his team.

"It was a highly competitive game. We played well and were good value for our victory," he said.

"It was a good win against a team that has started so well and has a style of play which is different to what we're used to seeing. In terms of our attacking play, we were excellent."

Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Leeds United - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - November 7, 2020 Leeds United's Luke Ayling in action with Crystal Palace's Jordan Ayew Pool via REUTERS/Glyn Kirk

(Reporting by Simon Evans; Editing by Christian Radnedge and Ken Ferris)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.