The Eagles return from West Yorkshire with a well-earned point from Elland Road as Pierre Sage oversaw his side hold Leeds and with a valuable clean sheet.
MATCH INFORMATION
| 20 September 2026 – 2pm |
| Leeds United 0-0 Crystal Palace |
| Premier League |
| Elland Road |
OFFICIALS
| Referee | Adam Herczeg |
| VAR | Paul Tierney |
| Assistant Referees | Tim Wood, Simon Long |
| Fourth Official | Farai Hallam |
| Assistant VAR | Wade Smith |
PLAYER RATINGS
Crystal Palace
| 44 | Walter BENITEZ | 7.0 |
| 25 | Anan KHALAILI | 6.7 |
| 3 | Tyrick MITCHELL | 7.0 |
| 26 | Chris RICHARDS | 7.1 |
| 17 | Takehiro TOMIYASU | 6.5 |
| 6 | Jaydee CANVOT | 7.1 |
| 23 | Quinten TIMBER | 6.7 |
| 20 | Adam WHARTON © | 6.9 |
| 18 | Daichi KAMADA | 6.0 |
| 10 | Yeremy PINO | 6.6 |
| 22 | Jorgen Strand LARSEN | 6.5 |
| 7 | Ismaila SARR (PINO 82 mins) | 6.0 |
| 8 | Jefferson LERMA (TOMIYASU 46 mins) | 6.8 |
| 9 | Eddie NKETIAH (LARSEN 82 mins) | 6.0 |
| 11 | Dwight MCNEIL | – |
| 24 | Dario OSORIO | – |
| 28 | Cheick DOUCOURE | – |
| 30 | Oscar MINGUEZA | – |
| 31 | Remi MATTHEWS | – |
| 33 | Ben CHILWELL | – |
Leeds United
| 1 | James TRAFFORD | 7.5 |
| 2 | Jayden BOGLE | 6.2 |
| 3 | Gabriel GUDMUNDSSON | 7.1 |
| 5 | Tarik MUHAREMOVIC | 7.4 |
| 30 | Nico ELVEDI | 7.0 |
| 24 | James JUSTIN | 7.4 |
| 22 | Ao TANAKA | 6.3 |
| 4 | Ethan AMPADU © | 7.1 |
| 18 | Anton STACH | 7.0 |
| 19 | Noah OKAFOR | 7.1 |
| 9 | Dominic CALVERT-LEWIN | 6.5 |
| 7 | Dan JAMES (BOGLE 67 mins) | 6.0 |
| 8 | Sean LONGSTAFF | – |
| 11 | Brendan AARONSON (TANAKA 67 mins) | 6.3 |
| 14 | Lukas NMECHA (OKAFOR 76 mins) | 6.1 |
| 15 | Jaka BIJOL | – |
| 16 | Michael ZETTERER | – |
| 23 | Jean-Matteo BAHOYA (GUDMUNDSSON 90+1) | 6.2 |
| 26 | Melvin BARD | – |
| 44 | Ilia GRUEV | – |
POST GAME QUOTES
PIERRE SAGE
“We worked a lot during the last week. We conceded less chances than before, but we conceded one big one and our goalkeeper made a big save so we have to congratulate Walter Benitez on that. We deserved something else than a draw and we created some chances without scoring. We played well, we created a lot. It’s easy to make a good performance one time, so we have to do it every game and we need to perform better to take points.”
DANIEL FARKE
“You can’t expect to have 38 games of magical nights under the lights when you always overrun your opponents. We faced a difficult Palace side and it was not our best game and a bit scruffy at the end. We have heart, spirit and tactically we can adapt. We have strong unity in the dressing room. After an intense opening start to the season, it’s important we have a bit of time to recover.”
MATCH STATISTICS
| Star Man | James TRAFFORD (7.5) |
| Goals | None |
| Assists | None |
| Most shots | Tarik MUHAREMOVIC (4) |
| Most tackles | Tyrick MITCHELL (5) |
| Most dribbles | Noah OKAFOR (6) |
| Team rating | 6.75 – 6.64 |
| Total shots | 13 – 12 |
| Shots on target | 2 – 4 |
| Yellow cards | Jayden BOGLE (38), Ao TANAKA (62), Adam WHARTON (64), Yeremy PINO (81), Jefferson LERMA (90+2) |
| Red cards | None |
| Possession | 50.6% – 49.4% |
| Pass success | 81% – 81% |
| Passes | 416 – 417 |
| Dribbles | 8 – 4 |
| Aerials won | 20 – 13 |
| Tackles | 16 – 18 |
| Fouls | 10 – 12 |
| Corners | 4 – 3 |
| Saves | 5 – 2 |
| Dispossessed | 6 – 9 |
TEB VERDICT
A first half of very few chances with the two teams cancelling each other out, set up a second half with all to play for but while both teams had chances, the game petered out to a stalemate which Pierre Sage will be happy with.
There was much improvement particularly in the back line with plenty of positives particularly the players buying into the way that the Frenchman wants them to play and getting used to his system.
You could argue that Palace should have taken all three points by creating the better chances than the hosts, much of the reason why James Trafford was named man of the match by several media outlets.
We now head into an extended international break with no game for the Eagles until hosting Forest with three weeks’ time. That could prove good timing for Sage to take stock and work ahead to what will be a very busy schedule of fixtures in all competitions.
With plenty of rumours around the future of Sage, let’s hope that nothing silly happens and that he is given the time and returns to the dugout at Selhurst Park on 11 October to mastermind a victory over Forest.
LEAGUE POSITION
| P | W | D | L | GD | PTS | ||
| 14 | Sunderland | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -4 | 4 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -5 | 4 |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -5 | 4 |
UPCOMING FIXTURES
| DATE | TEAM | LOCATION | COMPETITION | KICK OFF TIME |
| 11/10/2026 | Nottingham Forest | Home | Premier League | 2pm |
| 15/10/2026 | Lyon | Away | Europa League | 5.45pm |
| 18/10/2026 | Brighton & Hove Albion | Away | Premier League | 2pm |
