Leeds continue unbeaten start to season after draw with Palace

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist

Leeds United maintained their unbeaten start to their Premier League campaign thanks to a hard-earned goalless draw at home against Crystal Palace.

After a first half of few clear-cut chances, the game sprung into life just after the restart with the visitors having three opportunities in quick succession.

Yeremy Pino almost found the bottom corner with a clever free-kick, only for goalkeeper James Trafford to get down quickly to push the ball away for a corner, with Jefferson Lerma shooting over from the following set-piece.

Daichi Kamada then fired narrowly wide before Palace thought they had scored through Tyrick Mitchell. But team-mate Anan Khalaili was ruled offside before he had crossed into the middle and the goal was disallowed.

Leeds' best chance fell to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but he could not mark his return to the England squad with a goal as Walter Benitez did superbly to save his well-struck effort from eight yards out.

Daniel Farke's Leeds side, who came 14th last season on their return to the top flight, sit fifth so far in 2026-27, with two wins and three draws from their five league matches.

Leeds analysis: Farke's side defensively strong again

Daniel Farke post-match interview: Leeds United 0-0 Crystal Palace

Leeds came into this match on the back of their best performance of the season so far as they overpowered Newcastle 4-1 on Monday, but for large parts of the match at Elland Road, Palace were the better side.

Nevertheless, it was still another resolute defensive performance from the hosts, which was epitomised by defender Tarik Muharemovic celebrating a vital last-minute block on Ismaila Sarr as if he had scored a goal himself.

Leeds go into the three-week international break having conceded just three goals, which, level with Everton, is the joint fewest in the top flight.

Farke will be delighted with how his side have performed so far this season, but will also feel they could have taken all three points if his main striker had converted a glorious chance.

Four goals in his past four games had helped Calvert-Lewin earn an England recall, with the 29-year-old named in Thomas Tuchel's squad for the four Nations League matches against Spain, Czech Republic (twice) and Croatia.

He has only made one substitute appearance for the Three Lions since 2021 - coming on as a substitute in a 1-1 draw in a friendly against Uruguay in March - and would have been keen to impress.

Calvert-Lewin, who also contributed superbly to Leeds' defensive efforts, will feel he should have done better when faced with only Benitez to beat, only to be denied by the Argentine goalkeeper.

Crystal Palace analysis: Eagles unlucky to not gain win

Pierre Sage post-match interview: Leeds United 0-0 Crystal Palace

This was a good test for boss Pierre Sage, with the Eagles playing on Thursday in the Europa League and having three days less preparation time than Leeds.

But he would have been pleased with the energy his side showed throughout, despite nine of the players that started on Thursday featuring again from the beginning.

Palace created the first chance of the match, only for Quinten Timber to fire over from 25 yards, before Adam Wharton and Tyrick Mitchell had their only other chances of note in the first half, with both strikes deflected and easily dealt with.

But Palace's best spell came just after the break, although a failure to convert their chances saw them unable to make the breakthrough.

Palace had conceded a late goal to lose 3-2 to Ipswich Town last weekend and it would have been harsh on them if something similar had happened here. Leeds, whose main threat came from the impressive long throws of Ethan Ampadu, won a deep free-kick in injury time, but Palace dealt with the threat by heading clear to gain a deserved point.

Sage's side are 15th in the table with four points from five games, but this performance will give him great belief that the Eagles can quickly progress up the table after the international break.

More on this story