Palace thrash awful Leeds to move six points clear of drop zone

Crystal Palace, under the management of Roy Hodgson, secured their second consecutive Premier League victory in commanding fashion, coming from behind to thrash Leeds United 5-1 at Elland Road.

In the opening six minutes of the game, Luis Sinisterra shot wide of the Palace goal, and Brenden Aaronson flicked a shot towards the goal that was saved by Sam Johnstone.

Leeds' early pressure resulted in a goal in the 21st minute, as Aaronson's corner was met by the head of Patrick Bamford, who expertly guided the ball into the net off the far post.

The visitors had a chance to level immediately from their own corner, but an unmarked Jeffrey Schlupp could only head the ball against the post, failing to find the back of the net.

Despite Schlupp's missed opportunity, Leeds remained on the attack, but Palace's goalkeeper was in inspired form, making a fine save to deny Jack Harrison's powerful free-kick, and comfortably gathering Robin Koch's header from the resulting corner.

However, Roy Hodgson's men restored parity in the first-half stoppage time, as Schlupp's mistimed header from a Palace free-kick was capitalised on by Marc Guehi, who poked the ball home from close range.

The Eagles took confidence from their equalizer and stunned their hosts in the opening stages of the second half, scoring two goals in three minutes. Michael Olise provided the cross for Jordan Ayew to head the ball beyond Illan Meslier, and soon after, Olise and Eberechi Eze combined for the latter to calmly score the third goal.

As the Whites pushed forward in search of a way back into the game, the visitors took full advantage and scored a fourth goal on a clinical counter-attack, with Odsonne Edouard scoring from Olise's through ball.

Ayew scored his second and Palace's fifth goal after Will Hughes's deflected shot broke to him, which he swept past a helpless Meslier.

With this win, Palace move six points clear of the drop zone, while Leeds remain in 16th place and only two points above the relegation zone.