ARTICLE AD BOX
Eberechi Eze scored a fine goal as Crystal Palace came from behind to beat Leeds at Selhurst Park and end their winless run in the Premier League.
The visitors had deservedly taken the lead early on when Pascal Struijk drove in after Brenden Aaronson hit the post following excellent work inside the box.
Crystal Palace were struggling to impose themselves and Patrick Bamford, making his first Leeds start since August, forced a save out of Vicente Guaita.
But the hosts equalised midway through the first half when Odsonne Edouard headed in from Michael Olise's free-kick.
Jordan Ayew could not put Palace ahead in the second half when he appeared in on goal, only for Rasmus Kristensen to make an excellent last-ditch challenge.
But Eze secured the three points with a superb individual strike, running across the edge of the area before firing low into the back of the net.
The win - Palace's first in five Premier League games - moves them up to 15th and three points clear of the relegation zone, level on nine points with Leeds, who are 14th.
- Follow reaction to Crystal Palace v Leeds and Sunday's other Premier League games
- Visit our Leeds United page
- Go straight to all the best Crystal Palace content
A much-needed win for Palace
Palace started the day in a relatively precarious position, just one point above the bottom three after winning one of their first seven league games.
The caveat, however, was that they had faced four of the traditional 'big six' in that run, so boss Patrick Vieira would have looked to this game as more of an indicator of how they could perform this season.
Initially, the assessment would have been concerning as they struggled to cope with the Leeds press, making sloppy mistakes at the back while passes went astray.
But the Eagles improved after getting the equaliser, and in the end were good value for their win.
While Eze will take the headlines for his excellent goal, just as important to the victory was centre-back Joachim Andersen, who almost singlehandedly repelled anything the visitors had to offer in the second half.
Set piece woes for Leeds again
After avoiding relegation on the final day of last term, Leeds are hoping for a less stressful time in what is boss Jesse Marsch's first full season in charge.
The West Yorkshire side made an excellent start to the campaign with wins against Wolves and Chelsea in their first three games, but they are now without a win since August.
They began this match in dominant form as Palace struggled to deal with them, with Aaronson looking lively and Bamford sharp on his return to the starting XI.
But set pieces have been a point of concern, and once again they were Leeds' undoing as they failed to pick up Edouard for Olise's free-kick.
Since the start of last season, they have conceded 20 goals from set pieces, with only Southampton (21), Everton (23) and Leicester (25) letting in more.
After conceding the equaliser, Leeds rarely looked like scoring again as their struggles on the road continued, taking just one point in four away games so far this season.
How to play
Rate players out of 10 throughout or after the game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle.
Rating range key1 = Give it up10 = Pure perfection
Crystal Palace
Squad number13Player nameGuaita
Squad number2Player nameWard
Squad number16Player nameAndersen
Squad number6Player nameGuéhi
Squad number15Player nameSchlupp
Squad number7Player nameOlise
Squad number28Player nameDoucouré
Squad number10Player nameEze
Squad number9Player nameJ Ayew
Squad number22Player nameÉdouard
Squad number11Player nameZaha
Squad number3Player nameMitchell
Squad number4Player nameMilivojevic
Squad number14Player nameMateta
Squad number19Player nameHughes
Leeds United
Squad number1Player nameMeslier
Squad number25Player nameKristensen
Squad number5Player nameKoch
Squad number6Player nameCooper
Squad number21Player nameStruijk
Squad number12Player nameAdams
Squad number8Player nameRoca
Squad number7Player nameAaronson
Squad number19Player nameRodrigo
Squad number11Player nameHarrison
Squad number9Player nameBamford
Squad number2Player nameAyling
Squad number10Player nameSummerville
Squad number30Player nameGelhardt
Squad number43Player nameKlich
Line-ups
Crystal Palace
Formation 4-3-3
- 13Guaita
- 2Ward
- 16Andersen
- 6GuéhiBooked at 38mins
- 15Schlupp
- 7OliseBooked at 82minsSubstituted forHughesat 85'minutes
- 28DoucouréBooked at 14minsSubstituted forMilivojevicat 64'minutes
- 10Eze
- 9J AyewSubstituted forMitchellat 65'minutes
- 22ÉdouardSubstituted forMatetaat 86'minutes
- 11Zaha
Substitutes
- 3Mitchell
- 4Milivojevic
- 5Tomkins
- 14Mateta
- 19Hughes
- 21Johnstone
- 23Ebiowei
- 44Riedewald
- 45Gordon
Leeds
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Meslier
- 25KristensenBooked at 79minsSubstituted forAylingat 84'minutes
- 5KochBooked at 90mins
- 6Cooper
- 21StruijkBooked at 50mins
- 12Adams
- 8RocaSubstituted forGelhardtat 84'minutes
- 7AaronsonSubstituted forKlichat 76'minutes
- 19Rodrigo
- 11Harrison
- 9BamfordSubstituted forSummervilleat 62'minutes
Substitutes
- 2Ayling
- 10Summerville
- 13Klaesson
- 14Llorente
- 18Gyabi
- 29Gnonto
- 30Gelhardt
- 42Greenwood
- 43Klich
Live Text
Match ends, Crystal Palace 2, Leeds United 1.
Second Half ends, Crystal Palace 2, Leeds United 1.
Attempt missed. Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from more than 40 yards on the left wing is too high from a direct free kick.
Robin Koch (Leeds United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Robin Koch (Leeds United).
Attempt saved. Joe Gelhardt (Leeds United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Pascal Struijk.
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Robin Koch.
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Liam Cooper.
Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Luke Ayling (Leeds United).
Attempt missed. Joachim Andersen (Crystal Palace) header from very close range is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Eberechi Eze with a cross following a set piece situation.
Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Joe Gelhardt (Leeds United).
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Rodrigo.
Attempt blocked. Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Joe Gelhardt (Leeds United).
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Jean-Philippe Mateta replaces Odsonne Édouard.
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Will Hughes replaces Michael Olise.
- Our coverage of your Premier League club is bigger and better than ever before - here's everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment