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Premier League in Perth is a Tasty Affair

So, what did this all-Premier League friendly encounter between Crystal Palace and Leeds tell us?

Well, for a start it wasn’t all that friendly.

In fact, at times it was feisty which suggests both teams are stepping up their pre-season preparations with the big kick-off just a fortnight away now.

Furthermore, the sides who lined up for this encounter may be quite different to those named on the opening weekend of next season.

Clearly, some of the young players in the Palace touring party will find chances hard to come by when manager Patrick Vieira gets all his squad back together once they return to London.

On the flipside, his compatriot Jesse Marsch, may not have much choice as he endured a frustrating time with two of his players needing to leave the fray through injury before half-time.

Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch eyeing a pre-season victory before the new Premier League season commence
Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch reacts during the pre-season friendly in Australia

It may have been Perth but it is far from summer in Australia and this was very English in more ways than one with heavy bursts of rain in the 48 hours before kick-off making parts of the pitch extremely muddy.

Vieira gave 17-year-old midfielder David Ozoh a start at the Optus Stadium, but it was his opposite number who had slightly more to think about in the opening 45 minutes when new signing Luis Sinisterra appeared to have a problem with his hamstring and went down with no one near him.

The Colombian, who has just joined the club from Feyenoord for £21-M, limped slowly towards the dressing rooms in a way which suggested he could be set for a spell on the sidelines before a competitive ball has been kicked.

When Adam Forshaw limped off shortly afterwards, Marsch must have been cursing his side’s misfortune.

All this in a first half which concluded with Tyler Adams squaring up to Palace frontman Jordan Ayew – not for the first time Leeds have been involved in a fiery friendly this summer.

Whether the walking wounded affected Marsch’s half-time alterations is unclear but Leeds made five changes at the break and were rewarded 11 minutes into the second half.

Crysencio Summerville went down quite easily under pressure from Joel Ward, triggering protests from the Palace players and Vieira, but a penalty was awarded and Rodrigo converted from the spot.

As the few fraying tempers remained on the surface, the Eagles were level within 12 minutes, countering quickly before Jean-Philippe Mateta finished from close range after Ayew drove into the area.

That was how it ended but how similar the Leeds side that finished the contest will be to the team selected to play in their first Premier League match of the season remains to be seen.

Premier League
Leeds United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
1X2 Draw @ 3.15
Over 2.50 @ 2.00
Total Goals 2-3 @ 1.90
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.

This was a pretty gruelling workout for the Yorkshire outfit in what has been a quite rough-and-tumble pre-season to date. Their final match ahead of the new Premier League season is actually next Sunday at Elland Road against Cagliari.

As for Palace, who face QPR next, they are set to complete the signing of the United States defender Chris Richards for an initial £10-M from Bayern Munich but have been frustrated in attempts to prise Morgan Gibbs-White from Wolves.

Richards, who joined Bayern from the MLS side FC Dallas in 2018, is expected to sign a five-year deal at Selhurst Park after completing his medical on Thursday. He spent the past 18 months on loan at Hoffenheim.

Leeds certainly should have money to spend following the sales of their two best players in Kalvin Phillips and the excellent Brazilian Raphinha.

Vieira is also hoping to secure a replacement for Conor Gallagher, who has returned to Chelsea after his season-long loan last term, and had identified Gibbs-White as his main target after missing out on Flynn Downes when the midfielder joined West Ham from Swansea.


 

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