Crystal Palace and a depleted Leeds United played out a goalless Premier League draw, leaving nothing to separate the sides. The result extended the Eagles’ unbeaten record against Leeds to eight meetings (W4, D4), despite the lack of excitement on the pitch.

Palace supporters were already frustrated following a midweek 0-0 draw with AEK Larnaca in the UEFA Conference League, and a largely uneventful first half did little to lift spirits at Selhurst Park.

Leeds had the first real opportunity when a mistimed header from Ismaila Sarr allowed Brenden Aaronson to volley a bouncing ball across the goalmouth.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin then saw a header from a promising position comfortably saved, before Sarr’s angled strike was denied by Karl Darlow stages of the half when Will Hughes handled the ball in the box from a corner, leaving referee and fans stunned.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin stepped up to take the penalty, but despite sending Walter Benítez the wrong way, his low strike lacked accuracy and failed to hit the target.

Referee Thomas Bramall then found himself in the spotlight when he showed Gabriel Gudmundsson a second yellow card for a late challenge, eventually producing a red after urging from the Palace players.

Starting the second half a man down, Leeds United remained competitive and continued to pose a threat going forward.

After an hour, Jean-Philippe Mateta was brought on for Crystal Palace to press their numerical advantage, receiving a mixed reaction from the Selhurst Park crowd.

With time running out, it briefly appeared that Palace had broken the deadlock. Karl Darlow initially kept out a header from Jefferson Lerma, but he could not prevent Lerma from powering home a follow-up header moments later.