OFFICIAL MATCH REPORT: LEEDS UNITED SECURES 4-1 WIN THROUGH CALVERT-LEWIN AND ANTON STACH MASTERCLASS
Leeds United extends its unbeaten streak to four matches with a 4-1 rout of Crystal Palace. Full tactical breakdown inside.
Leeds United gave their fans an early Christmas gift, totally dominating Crystal Palace, who had been on a good run.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored twice before halftime, putting Leeds ahead. Then, captain Ethan Ampadu scored from close range, and Anton Stach curled a fantastic free kick in to cap off the victory!
Daniel Farke only made one change from the team that got a point at Brentford last week, bringing Brenden Aaronson back as Leeds switched to a 3-4-3 formation.
On a foggy night, the game started at a packed and loud Elland Road, with the home team attacking right away.
Chances were rare until Ampadu's long throw found Joe Rodon via a touch from Calvert-Lewin. The centre-back's shot was deflected wide, and from the corner, his header went just past the post.
The visitors' first chance came soon after when Lucas Perri saved a low shot from former Leeds player Eddie Nketiah, who was set up by Jean-Philippe Mateta.
From another Stach set piece, Pascal Struijk's header narrowly missed the goal.
Leeds should have had a penalty when Aaronson was tripped in the box by Tyrick Mitchell.
But Leeds soon got their goal! From another Ampadu throw, Palace defender Chris Richards touched the ball first, but it then fell to Calvert-Lewin, who scored past Henderson to put United ahead with his fifth goal in as many games!
Later, Aaronson and Stach passed to Struijk on the edge of the box, but Richards deflected his powerful shot around the post.
Leeds ended the half strongly as another throw from Ampadu caused chaos in the Palace box.
Jaka Bijol flicked it to the far post, and Calvert-Lewin was there to head it home, doubling Leeds' lead at halftime!
Leeds came out strong and unchanged for the second half, pushing for a third goal with the crowd still loud.
From a corner won by Stach, the ball went to Gabriel Gudmundsson in the box, but Mateta blocked his shot.
Leeds kept up the pressure, and Palace had to defend desperately to clear the ball after Leeds' Swedish and American players combined down the left wing to send a low cross into the area.
Leeds kept getting corners, and one fell to Aaronson on the edge of the box. His header bounced to Ampadu, who scored from close range to put Leeds three goals ahead!
Leeds wanted more, and Noah Okafor passed to Rodon on the edge of the area, but his shot hit a defender and went just wide.
From the following set piece, there was chaos in the box. Struijk's header was barely saved by Henderson as players fell everywhere, and Palace somehow survived.
Then, from a quick break by Wilfried Gnonto, Calvert-Lewin would have had a hat trick if not for a last-ditch tackle.
As the game went into added time, Palace scored a goal. Substitute Christantus Uche won a penalty, and Justin Devenny scored.
But Leeds won a penalty of their own minutes later after Ilia Gruev was fouled. VAR ruled that the foul was outside the box, but it did not matter.
Stach scored his free kick, sending the Leeds fans home happy! The crowd, which had been singing all night, celebrated again.
The final whistle blew on a dominant win that extends Leeds' unbeaten run to four games before their trip to Sunderland next weekend.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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