Just a couple of weeks ago, Crystal Palace fans could not have imagined they would be at Elland Road, cheering after every pass by their team. For too long this season, they were just grateful to celebrate one goal in a game, but on Sunday they were spoiled with five in a remarkable second-half demolition of Leeds United. This is almost the stuff of fairytales. Roy Hodgson, a boyhood Palace fan and former manager of the team between 2017 and 2021, came out of retirement to help the side stay in the Premier League. And two weeks in, that task already looks almost complete. Back-to-back wins in Hodgson’s two games in charge have moved Palace up to 12th on 33 points, six above the relegation zone.
Hodgson, who has been in the game long enough to not get carried away by such an emphatic display, said: “This was a good day. They won’t be good days forever. If I was a younger, less cynical person I might be enjoying it more than I am because I have an eye that we aren’t clear of the mire.” So what has Hodgson done to unlock Palace’s attacking talent? Wilfried Zaha, Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze have been able to express themselves in a manner they were not quite able to do under former boss Patrick Vieira. In the ex-France international’s last nine games, Palace had a total of 16 shots on target but they have equalled that tally in just two games under Hodgson, scoring with seven of those. Even more impressive is that Palace scored five against Leeds with their talismanic forward Zaha out through injury.
Michael Brown, former Sheffield United and Leeds midfielder and BBC Radio 5 live pundit, said: “Crystal Palace came out with great confidence, great flair, some top quality counter-attacking. They had a little bit of everything.” Olise truly stood out at Elland Road, becoming the youngest player in Premier League history to provide three assists in a single game. Hodgson said: “I think he is an enormous talent. He has a great possibility in terms of having a wonderful career and future and we can only hope at Crystal Palace we can give him the platform.”
For so long it looked like it would be Leeds who would be enjoying the perfect day. Fresh from a 2-1 win against Nottingham Forest, they attacked with confidence and pace in a first half in which they really should have been two or three goals up. But a mixture of brilliant goalkeeping by Sam Johnstone and wasteful finishing meant they were always in danger of undoing the good work that led to Patrick Bamford scoring his 50th goal for the club. Javi Gracia, who has had a good start to his managerial career at Leeds, winning three and drawing one of his eight games so far, will be hoping his players can recover from the second-half disappointment and pull themselves away from trouble. He said: “I know my players very well. I don’t need to lose one game or win one game to learn more about my players. I believe in them and trust them and in this situation we are going to do it together.”