Crystal Palace held to a goalless draw by 10-man Leeds

By Andy Sims, PA

Leeds suffered more capital punishment after Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed a penalty and Gabriel Gudmundsson was sent off in a goalless draw at Crystal Palace.

The Whites are now winless in their last 12 visits to London, but they did at least battle for a point despite playing the whole second half a man down.

It could be a valuable point as well, with Leeds having been dragged back into the relegation dogfight after five matches without a win.

A forgettable encounter only briefly came to life just before half-time, when Calvert-Lewin fired his spot-kick wide, managers Oliver Glasner and Daniel Farke were both booked and Gudmundsson was dismissed.

Leeds could have taken the lead in the 15th minute when Ismaila Sarr made a mess of a headed clearance to allow Brenden Aaronson a free shot at goal.

The American should have hit the target at the very least, but he dragged his shot across goal and wide.

With Dean Henderson missing through illness Walter Benitez made a Premier League debut in goal for Palace.

The 33-year-old Argentinian, whose last appearance was the humiliating FA Cup defeat at Macclesfield, made a nervy start and was fortunate not to step behind his own goal-line after catching a header from Calvert-Lewin.

It had been a largely benign first half, but it exploded into life as the break approached.

First, Palace captain Will Hughes inexplicably handled a corner from Anton Stach to concede a penalty.

Calvert-Lewin stepped up and sent Benitez the wrong way, but unfortunately for Leeds he also sent the ball the wrong side of the left-hand post.

Then Leeds’ Jaka Bijol – who was already on a yellow card for a needless handball – was lucky to escape a second booking for a body-check on Sarr.

Instead, referee Tom Bramall showed yellow cards to increasingly frustrated bosses Glasner and Farke.

Farke’s mood darkened further when Gudmundsson was booked for a nasty foul on Sarr.

Bramall appeared to have forgotten showing Gudmundsson a yellow 20 minutes earlier, but he eventually remembered – or was reminded by someone – and brandished the red.

Glasner sent on Jean-Philippe Mateta early in the second half, with the French striker getting a distinctly mixed reception on his first league appearance since a failed attempt to join AC Milan in January.

He almost won the doubters over by converting a cross from Sarr, but Leeds keeper Karl Darlow managed to claw the ball behind.

Leeds’ sense of injustice was only heightened when Brennan Johnson, already on a card, tripped James Justin and also stayed on the pitch.

Yet they were glad he was still on moments later when Jefferson Lerma bundled the ball home, only for Johnson to be flagged offside.