Leeds United were embarrassed at Elland Road as they collapsed to a 5-1 defeat against Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.
Here's the winners and losers from the contest.
Winners
Adam Forshaw
It’s been a long season for Forshaw, battling with a number of issues that have severely restricted his game time. He’s made just five appearances with his last one coming on New Year’s Eve against Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
However, after overcoming a hip injury he was deemed fit enough to be named on the bench for the first time this calendar year against Palace. Forshaw’s presence in the squad was certainly a welcome one but he never got onto the field.
Read more: Leeds United player ratings with Ayling and Roca dire in collapse to Crystal Palace
Losers
Javi Gracia
The head coach must have been completely perplexed as he watched on from the sidelines at Elland Road. United were well and truly on top in the first half, creating chances at will and picking holes in what looked to be a Palace side that was low on confidence.
For 40 minutes there was only one team in the game, but the goal Leeds conceded just before the break seemed to rock them to their core and what happened in the second half was inexcusable. The Whites failed to show up after the break as Palace ran riot, bagging four goals to turn a poor performance into a rout.
All of a sudden Palace were simply walking through Leeds’ backline as defenders crumbled under the pressure of Jordan Ayew, Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise and Odsonne Edouard. The midfield that had been dominant for large periods of the game was left chasing shadows and struggling to string a pass together when they did have the ball.
Gracia made changes but he didn’t have the answers in the second half as his side collapsed in front of his eyes.
Luke Ayling
The right-back wasn’t the only player at fault in the second half, far from it. But he struggled to plug what was a gaping hole down Leeds’ right and Palace took full advantage of it.
He was the man at fault for Ayew’s first, giving the ball away initially before allowing the forward the space needed to nod the ball home and give Palace the lead. He struggled to recover and his recent form now makes his spot in the side extremely vulnerable.
Marc Roca, Pascal Struijk and Robin Koch were amongst those to produce alarmingly bad second half displays, too, each playing their own roles in Palace goals.
Leeds United’s survival hopes
The Whites had high hopes of putting some distance between themselves and the drop zone on Sunday afternoon. Their win over Nottingham Forest in midweek had them in high spirits and the start they enjoyed against the Eagles should have been enough to bolster their confidence.
As it is, though, they remain just two points off the bottom three with eight games remaining. It’s as much a mental battle right now and Gracia has a huge job on his hands over the next few days to pick his side up again for the visit of Liverpool.
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