Leeds United had a significant opportunity to create some breathing space from the relegation zone last weekend, but two consecutive defeats have dragged them back into danger and left them looking nervously over their shoulders.
Losses to Manchester City and Sunderland had already dented their push for safety, and Sunday’s trip to Crystal Palace represented a chance to respond. Leeds made a bright start and controlled much of the first half, but failed to translate that dominance into goals, a pattern that has frustrated throughout their season. Dominic Calvert-Lewin was presented with the chance to open the scoring from the penalty spot but failed to find the target, a miss that loomed large over what followed.
The afternoon took a dramatic turn shortly afterward when Ismaila Sarr was brought down on the counter-attack by Gabriel Gudmundsson, who had already been booked earlier in the game. The referee showed a second yellow and Leeds were reduced to ten men for the remainder of the match. Despite the disadvantage, they held on to claim a point at Selhurst Park.
BBC Radio Leeds reporter Adam Pope was critical of referee Thomas Bramall’s handling of the situation, taking particular issue with the yellow card that led to the dismissal. Speaking on the Don’t Go to Bed Just Yet podcast, Pope said the referee had done a reasonable job up to that point, including correctly awarding the penalty in real time, before completely undermining his own performance with what Pope described as the cheapest yellow card he had seen, suggesting the official had lost track of the fact he had already cautioned Gudmundsson.
The draw at least stopped the bleeding after two straight defeats, and prevented Leeds from suffering three consecutive losses at a stage of the season when that kind of run can be very difficult to recover from. Attention now turns to a home game against Brentford, who have lost only once in their last five matches. It is a daunting fixture, and Farke’s side will need to be considerably more clinical than they were at Palace if they are to take anything from it.