Leeds United continued their brilliant run of recent form with a convincing 4-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday. Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored twice while Ethan Ampadu and Anton Stach grabbed a goal each to cap off a brilliant run into Christmas for Daniel Farke’s side.
A relatively quiet opening half-hour saw half-chances for Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk missed while at the other end, Eddie Nketiah had a shot parried away by Lucas Perri. Calvert-Lewin then took his first opportunity at the second time of asking, tapping in from close range after a long throw was flicked into his path by Palace defender Chris Richards.
The in-form striker made it 2-0 in first-half added-time, again getting in at the back post after Jaka Bijol flicked Ampadu’s throw into a dangerous area. Leeds continued to cause problems for their opponents and even grabbed a third on the hour, with Ampadu reacting quickly to poke a loose ball beyond Dean Henderson.
Palace were handed the chance to grab a consolation when Christantus Uche was fouled by Perri as seven minutes of added-time began. Substitute Justin Devenny buried the spot-kick to get his side on the scoresheet but Leeds restored their three-goal lead deep into added-time through Anton Stach’s excellent free-kick.
YEP chief football writer Graham Smyth was at Elland Road on the night. Here are his Leeds United player ratings...
7. CM: Ethan Ampadu
9 - Long throws that caused problems, a rare goal, some lovely composure on the ball and plenty of physicality. Pretty complete. | Getty Images
8. CM: Anton Stach
8 - A lot of tidy moments on the ball and nice passes. A couple of awkward touches. Couldn't stop the ball over the top ahead of the penalty. Scored a beauty. | Getty Images
9. RW: Brenden Aaronson
8 - Very tidy on the ball for the vast majority. Helped progress a lot of attacks. Problematic for Palace in the second half especially. Should have had a penalty. | Getty Images
10. LW: Noah Okafor
7 - Dangerous in moments. When he got the chance he ran at Palace. Some nice bits of link-up play. | Getty Images
11. ST: Dominic Calvert-Lewin
9 - Took a fearsome whack on the head and still produced everything you would want from your number 9. In the right place, scored two, annoyed defenders, linked up. | Getty Images
12. Sub: Ao Tanaka
7 - Not quite as fluid or on it as he could have been a couple of times but tried to play on the front foot. | Getty Images