Leeds United 0-0 Crystal Palace: Tackles and saves

First the save. James Trafford has a very disarming way of describing how these things happen. In the back of his mind, he said after this game, was how Crystal Palace's Yéremy Pino had scored a free-kick against Manchester City. It went in off the bar and Gianluigi Donnarumma's back. But because this free-kick was closer, Trafford said, he knew Pino wouldn't be able to do that.

"So I just had to wait and then see where he put it," said Trafford. "And he put it there and I saved it."

Thanks James. The understatement is nice, though. So was the quiet sorting out of his hairbobble situation — a dangerously reddish one against Newcastle was replaced by a shirt-matching white to play Palace. Details are important, they say, and he got a clean sheet this time, so it worked.

And his save from Pino's free-kick worked too. Trafford might not get too excited about it, but I will, especially as his post-match regaling does reveal the real skill. He knew that he didn't know what Pino might do with this free-kick, central on the edge of the box. So he had to wait, and see, and see the ball zipping low through the gap in his wall, hard at his bottom corner. And Trafford had to get his full frame down there, all 6ft6in full length on the ground, to push the ball wide with his fist. 

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It's a great save and it's what Leeds have wanted between the sticks, since Lucas Perri facing each shot as if it was his first, now Karl Darlow has reverted to his mistaken version at Old Trafford last week, and we've seen Michael Zetterer not liking to get his shirt dirty at Stamford Bridge. Sunderland's very good goalie, Robin Roefs, was keeping like that for some of the five Manchester City scored past him this weekend, and I thanked the good Traffords once more for their great son Jim: a goalie who dives, saves, and gets his scrunchies right second time. 

Good defensive moments weren't what any Leeds fans wanted to cheer on Sunday, not after last Monday's four to the floor demolition of Newcastle United. But there are two sides to football and it doesn't have to be desperation, to look to the defending in a nil-all draw, but appreciation. Alongside Trafford's great save were three of the best penalty box tackles you'll see.

Two were by Tarik Muharemović. Early in the first half Ethan Ampadu was caught the wrong side of a straight pass to Quinten Timber. Jørgen Strand Larsen ran off Nico Elvedi, who had to close Timber, and was about to get on Timber's pass when, smooth and deadpan, Muharemović slid between him and the ball and popped it gently into Trafford's hands. Muharemović stood, looking unflustered by the applause from the stands. Strand Larsen looked, as he did all afternoon, like a knackered and bewildering way to spend £48m.

Muharemović was more enthused by his second big intervention, although he was helped by another Leeds-linked striker who didn't know what to do. With less than five minutes to go Bielsa-era loanee Eddie Nketiah was sent clear by Adam Wharton's lofted, defence-breaking pass. As James Justin closed in, Nketiah had the chance to touch the ball around him and shoot: he passed, squaring behind Justin, justifiably perhaps to Palace's best forward Ismaila Sarr, but giving Muharemović a chance. He still had to do a lot, but as Sarr slowed to receive the ball, Muharemović sped, and again without a ruffle he tapped the ball off Sarr's toe, slowing it down for Trafford to collect. 

Tarik allowed himself a small fist pump for that one, something he's liked doing since training at Juventus with Giorgio Chiellini. "I liked how Chiellini celebrated after every slide tackle, after every duel," he has told The Athletic. "But I also watched a lot of old videos from my idol, the Bosnia defender Emir Spahic, and how aggressive he was when celebrating."

Speaking of training, I wonder if Tarik has been teaching Ethan Ampadu some tricks. This is a less regarded part of signing better players, but they can teach your existing players how to get better, too. Midway through the second half Palace worked their way into the penalty area, Pino playing through for Daichi Kamada, and everything was against Ampadu. He was the wrong side of Kamada, coming from behind him. He still managed to get his leg in between, Muharemovićesque, getting a clean touch to take the ball away without coming close to fouling Kamada. Change channels, and look at Harry Maguire. Flick back, and see defending as art.

Even James Justin got into this, tapping a cross into the air over Sarr's head, chesting the dropping ball away from Nketiah on the penalty spot. "I'm French," said Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage after the match. "I know Cantona had his first game here." He was talking about Elland Road's atmosphere, but maybe he was thinking about Eric Cantona juggling the ball over Chelsea defenders and scoring, the way James Justin had juggled the ball over his strikers here.

Sage takes us away from these moments of defending, towards the reasons why it's them I'm talking about, and not four net-banging goals for the rampant Peacocks. Palace's new manager, for the sake of his job, couldn't allow that to happen and that made this game horrible for Leeds.

The Eagles had conceded eleven in four Premier League games so far, earning them three defeats and a 3-2 win at Fulham. Leeds had just scored four against the Magpies. Sage came to Elland Road as a manager in need of a shutdown, and he got it: after letting Fulham have 64 touches in their penalty area the other week, Palace allowed Leeds just sixteen.

Sage had an answer to Daniel Farke's new Leeds, and it was to force them into playing like Farke's old Leeds, the Championship one. It's been a while since a team has come to Elland Road and low blocked for all their worth, 5-4-1 with all ten outfielders behind the ball. But Palace did it and did it very well. They stayed narrow and stayed close together, and while Noah Okafor and Gabriel Gudmundsson did good jobs of winning their one-on-one battles out wide, when they span around the full-back and tried to find their mates, the gaps between the Palace players were too small.

After getting to half-time and getting Elland Road subdued, Palace had a second part of their plan, which was to move ten yards up the pitch and pretend they were going to be a pressing team now. They caught Leeds out, getting the ball in the net six minutes after restarting — ruled out for offside — and even after Palace dropped back into their shape, the Peacocks were never again comfortable going forward. 

Whatever Palace were doing, Leeds didn't play well. Shortly after Palace's no-goal, Jayden Bogle Maradona-turned on the right wing, leaving the ball for Justin to cross to the near post: England's Dominic Calvert-Lewin had a front-post tap in to score but he tapped it straight at Walter Benítez in goal who, regardless of the shot's closeness, reacted very well to save. Apart from that, there wasn't much going forward.

Leeds couldn't seem to see each other, or find each other with the ball when they did; if they did find each other, it was often with the wrong sort of pass, too heavy or too soft or in the wrong place. They just weren't being very kind to each other in possession, so often as not they ended up chasing the ball like dogs after a balloon. The obvious answer to United's travails was in the building, and his name is Harry Wilson, but he was injured for this game and hasn't looked in form this season so far. 

So instead the problem was compounded by bringing on Brenden Aaronson, who played like Charlie Chaplin being thrown into the assembly line machinery in Modern Times. He also turned atop the ball and played a first-touch through pass with which Lukas Nmecha could have won the game in stoppage time. But Jaydee Canvot cut it out.

And with that two teams took what they had and were quite happy about it. Palace went from conceding 2.75 goals per game, to none. "Especially when I read social media, there’s a big pressure," Pierre Sage said after the game, "But I don’t care about that," which is obviously why he mentioned it. 

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Leeds? Leeds got the four point week that would have been good before it started, and the clean sheet they should have kept against Newcastle, and signs that the defence — more changed than was planned, without Joe Rodon — is capable of nilling more often. Going forward? Harry Wilson is here, Jean Mattéo Bahoya made his debut off the bench, Calvert-Lewin had the chance of the game. This game was the better sort of frustrating. ⭑彡

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