Leeds United produced their most complete performance since returning to the Premier League, overwhelming a lethargic Crystal Palace 4-1 at Elland Road to move six points clear of the relegation zone. Dominic Calvert-Lewin struck twice before half-time, captain Ethan Ampadu added a third after the break and Anton Stach curled in a stoppage-time free-kick, with Justin Devenny’s late penalty offering only brief consolation for the visitors.
Calvert-Lewin’s double extended his scoring run to five successive Premier League matches, the first Leeds striker to achieve that feat in 22 years and matching Mark Viduka’s 2003 streak. For a free summer signing who spent much of the off-season without a club, it represented another step in a remarkable personal resurgence, and one that is now central to Leeds’ survival push.
The game’s dominant theme, however, was Leeds’ ruthless exploitation of Palace’s long-standing set-piece problems. Three of the home side’s goals arrived from long throws and corners, continuing a sequence that has already cost Oliver Glasner’s team against Strasbourg, Manchester United and Arsenal. While Daniel Farke hailed a complicated tactical plan against what he described as the league’s best away side, Glasner was left to brand his team’s performance “embarrassing” and to promise an overhaul of their dead-ball defending.
Leeds’ set-piece blueprint pays off amid scrappy opening