Daniel Farke is trying to stay cool. Having moved to within touching distance of Premier League safety when Leeds beat Nottingham Forest last month, picking up only three points from their past five games could be raising a few jitters among supporters. But Farke and his players were the ones celebrating at full-time here after earning a point that could be priceless to their hopes of survival.
Had Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted from the spot after Will Hughes had gifted them a penalty then things may have looked very different. Up until that point, Leeds had been the much better side as Crystal Palace again struggled against their physical approach. But the sending off of Gabriel Gudmundsson after a comical moment when the referee, Thomas Bramall, briefly forgot that the Sweden defender had already been cautioned changed the complexion of the game.
A toothless Palace could not make their advantage count as they were held to a stalemate for the second time in four days as Leeds dug in.
Oliver Glasner prioritised Palace’s trip to Elland Road in December over their Conference League commitments but his first-choice side were promptly thumped 4-1. This time, with the trip to Cyprus in the second leg of their last-16 tie on Thursday in mind, he gave Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada some minutes and handed Hughes the captain’s armband in the absence of Dean Henderson. That meant a first Premier League start for Walter Benítez, whose previous appearance came in the now infamous FA Cup defeat to non-league Macclesfield.
