Kyle Newbould: Leeds 0-0 Crystal Palace underlines clean sheet confidence | OneFootball

Leeds United stretched their unbeaten Premier League run to five with a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace at Elland Road. Tyrick Mitchell had a second-half finish ruled out for offside in the build-up, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin produced the hosts’ best chance.

Fresh from a 4-1 win over Newcastle, Leeds lacked the same fluency. Tarik Muharemovic made vital interventions either side of the interval, then on 52 minutes Mitchell briefly thought he had scored before VAR flagged Anan Khalaili offside by a sleeve. According to yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk, fine margins defined the contest.

Daniel Farke named an unchanged side for a third league game, with Nico Elvedi preferred to Jaka Bijol, Ao Tanaka in midfield and Noah Okafor roaming off Calvert-Lewin. In the second half he moved from a back three to a four and back again to disrupt Palace, but it brought no breakthrough.

After the VAR scare, Calvert-Lewin met a Justin cross but headed straight at Walter Benitez, a touch either side and it might have been the opener. Palace then had the better late moments yet could not convert.

The clean sheet will encourage Leeds. Palace’s 12 efforts amounted to 0.74 expected goals, excluding the disallowed strike, and Trafford dealt with what reached him, including a dangerous Yeremy Pino free-kick. Muharemovic’s late tackles helped seal a first league shutout since the opening weekend at Nottingham Forest, a reminder that many games will be tight and a solid base brings points when the attack misfires.

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk

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