The slump goes on
At half-time, Leeds United’s trip to Crystal Palace was similarly poised to the previous week’s clash with Aston Villa. The matches were level and Leeds had shown enough to believe they could go on and take victory in each match.
If holding on for a draw with 10 men against Steven Gerrard’s side was the silver lining on a frustrating day at Elland Road, it became the stick to beat a losing 11-man United side with at Selhurst Park. For all of their resilience against Villa, the Whites were poor in Croydon, verging on a full-blown collapse.
The start had been impressive. The intensity of the pressing in the opening 25 minutes, and the alarm caused in the Palace backline, was enough to remind yourself a lot can change in football in the space of a week.
READ MORE: Brenden Aaronson voices frustration after 'tough to swallow' Leeds United defeat at Crystal Palace
This looked nothing like the Leeds team which disappointed against Villa. The errors forced and danger created in the final third were at least somewhere close to resembling what increasingly looks like the long-lost zenith of Chelsea.
And yet, Leeds would be punished for not scoring more when they were on top, for not putting the match out of sight as they possibly could have done in dominating the territory and catching the Palace deer in the headlights. The second half was not a collapse like that seen at Brentford, but it was a meek, blunt, confused, frustrating display that was rightly put away by the hosts.
Leeds just aren’t scoring enough goals. Brentford aside, the defence is avoiding any thrashings, but the attack is failing to hit sides when their periods of dominance are upon them.
Although, you look at the goals conceded on Sunday and it’s tough to say the defence covered itself in glory. Rasmus Kristensen, otherwise excellent, should have stopped Odsonne Edouard, while Liam Cooper may regret diving in so quickly on Eberechi Eze.
The upshot of the loss is it’s now five matches without a win and a few slip-ups are at risk of turning into a slide down the table like last season. The demolition of Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea feels like a long time ago, but the players must keep it as a reminder of how well they can play rather than a millstone around their necks.
The run to the World Cup now seems to boil down to three monumental matches Leeds have to take at least six if not seven or nine points from. Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur look like the unpassable mountains Leeds might expect, but Leicester City, Fulham and Bournemouth have to be the matches which give some hope before everyone downs tools for another six weeks in November.
The one silver lining
It was a real shame Rasmus Kristensen turned in his best display of a choppy start to the season and ended up on the losing team. The Dane’s battle with Wilfried Zaha was the head-to-head which took top billing going into Sunday’s game.
Kristensen had rallied against Aston Villa and held off Luke Ayling for a little longer, but this was going to be one of the sternest tests he would face at right-back all season. He was excellent.
The 25-year-old barely gave Zaha a kick in the first half as he kept tight and intercepted everything which came into his path. Kristensen went shoulder to shoulder with the forward in physical battles, but also ensured he got his angles right every time Palace looked to find their talisman.
Even in the second half, as Zaha found more daylight with the ball at his feet, Kristensen more than held his own. A sign of how pumped up the right-back had got himself came in his double-fist celebration of a goal-saving block on Jordan Ayew.
It’s been a difficult start to life at Leeds for Kristensen, but this was the kind of valuable performance which will give him a massive boost looking ahead.
Bamford rust
Marsch feels Patrick Bamford can be part of the solution to more goals for Leeds. Well, let’s hope so because it’s hard to see where else they’re coming from if Luis Sinisterra is unavailable based on recent evidence.
The striker finally returned to the starting line-up for the first time in nearly two months on Sunday and he was predictably rusty. Keeping Bamford fit remains a major priority right now because even though it’s painful and frustrating in the short term, there has to be faith his sharpness and goals come back.
The number nine would drop deep to link up play, execute a few one-twos and make a handful of dangerous runs in behind, but it was clear he needs more time to get his eye back in. The one time he did break free saw him stab the ball at Vicente Guaita in a tame fashion as he rushed the chance.
Adams continues to impress
Brenden Aaronson’s dribble and shot off the post which led to Pascal Struijk’s opener may have been mesmerising, but it also emphasised his second-half decline. The American was at the sharp end of a rip-roaring start for Leeds, but as the goal threat dried up, so too did Aaronson.
Whether it’s the opposition figuring him out, doubling up on him or simply exhaustion in ideas from the 21-year-old, he needs to find a way to effect matches for the full 90 minutes. That inconsistency has arguably pushed Tyler Adams to the fore as the signing of the summer.
The 23-year-old again, even on the losing side, caught the eye for all the right reasons for Leeds. The panic which rippled through some sections of the fan base when rumours spread about him missing out only underlines his importance to this side now.
Along with the standard match-high tackle count of five, Adams would lay on two key passes and pull off the best passing accuracy in the whole team. The midfielder’s already developing into more than a tackler and disruptor.
Adams showed he had the poise and awareness to carry the ball into space when it warranted it as well as support attacks with off-the-ball runs from deep. He is adding strings to his bow and looking more dependable by the week.
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