Crystal Palace suffered a heavy defeat at Leeds United on Saturday, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.7m) once more proving to be the difference maker.
Here are our Scout Notes from Elland Road.
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IN-FORM CALVERT-LEWIN
Calvert-Lewin remarkably took his tally to six goals from his last five matches on Saturday.
Both strikes came from Ethan Ampadu (£4.9m) long throws, as Leeds’ physicality and capacity to win duels/second balls proved too much for Palace.
Netting for a fifth consecutive match, Calvert-Lewin has now scored against Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Brentford and Palace in quick succession.
“Very pleased. So he is, of course, a top player for us. I have spoken about how highly I rate him and value him from the beginning, from the first day he walked through the door. Of course, the numbers don’t lie. He is in red-hot form at the moment. For me, like I mentioned, one of the best English strikers in this league. He has proved it before whenever he was fit and he has shown his quality. And right now, he is on a path to be really also a top, top class player for Leeds United.” – Daniel Farke on Calvert-Lewin
Few forwards can beat Calvert-Lewin for shots over the last five Gameweeks, too.
And crucially, five of his 13 efforts were taken from inside the six-yard box, a league-high.
“In the six-yard box, that’s where I need to be. When you’re in a good moment and you’ve got the run, the ball starts dropping for you and that’s where I am at the minute. The belief stays the same, my belief in myself is what I’ve always had. But when you start hitting the back of the net, it pays off in a different way. Nothing’s changed for me, week on week I look to give my best for the team and continue to perform well.” – Dominic Calvert-Lewin
STACH IMPACT
Daniel Farke’s switch to a 3-5-2 formation is also getting the best out of Anton Stach (£4.9m).
The German midfielder has produced four attacking returns in as many matches since returning from a head injury, having fired in a late free-kick on Saturday.
With 13 shots and 13 chances created over the last four Gameweeks, he’s clearly one of the best sub-£5.0m midfielders to target right now, having only narrowly missed out on defensive contribution (DefCon) points against Palace.
Elsewhere, Joe Rodon (£4.0m) and Jayden Bogle (£4.4m) combined well down the right.
Centre-back Rodon took up some advanced positions and even looked like a winger at times, with two of his four goal attempts from open play.
PALACE “BULLIED”
Palace conceded all four goals from set plays at Elland Road.
In addition to those aforementioned concessions from long throws, a recycled corner and a direct free-kick also found the net.
Oliver Glasner’s side have now conceded 19 times in the Premier League this season, with 11 of those goals coming from dead-ball situations.
“We were bullied from set plays. Every single set play was dangerous. I can’t remember one big chance from open play. We could have conceded two or three more from set play goals. Conceding four is embarrassing. It’s the fourth game in the last few weeks we’ve lost because of set plays. We conceded two against Manchester United, (one) at Strasbourg and at Arsenal. It looks like we’re not sharp enough. We have to show a different set-up or mindset. If you defend set plays like today you have no chance to get a point in the PL.
“That’s why in the end we lost and conceded all the goals. In our attack we struggled winning duels, losing so many balls. Not creating enough situations and if the opposition plays man to man you have to win your duel. Uche did it at the end and we got a penalty. Sometimes you can reduce to the basics and in those we were by far not good enough today.” – Oliver Glasner
Justin Devenny‘s (£4.3m) late penalty offered a consolation, but having made wholesale changes from the 2-2 draw against KuPS only 48 hours before, this was a desperately disappointing display.
Chris Richards (£4.6m), Maxence Lacroix (£5.2m), Marc Guehi (£5.3m) and Adam Wharton (£5.0m) did at least bank DefCon.
Palace now face another quick turnaround, with a trip to Arsenal in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday preceding Sunday’s home clash against Tottenham Hotspur.
