Gary Cahill told Monday Night Football on Sky Sports that Crystal Palace found it ‘difficult’ to deal with Leeds United’s ‘intensity’ during their defeat at Elland Road last night.
The former England defender stated that Leeds’ build-up for their first goal was ‘so-so’, as he was adamant that Palace should have stopped it had they closed down Jack Harrison quicker.
During the reverse fixture, Palace put four past Leeds, but this time around, it was the Yorkshire outfit walking away with the points.
After the game, Cahill admitted that at Selhurst Park it was Leeds who ‘struggled’ with them, but that changed around yesterday.
“It was tough, we know that that they play with intensity,” said Cahill. “We knew that and we didn’t react very well early on.
“We obviously conceded, which wasn’t great. And it was difficult for us. We coped well with this at home. They struggled with this at home. And today, we struggled to get to grips with them, especially in the first half.
“I need to see it again (the first goal). I think we need to close him down quicker. Naturally when a goal is scored there is something you can do to stop it, I am sure unless it’s an absolute worldie.
“The build-up was so-so, it comes to the edge of the box, obviously he was going to shoot and we should have closed the gap quicker – second half we were better. We had more attacks. But we found it difficult to get going in the first half.”
Many teams have been found to be flummoxed by Leeds’ all-action style this season and it will only continue as the season draws to a close.
But Marcelo Bielsa will be hoping his team can do the unthinkable and finish in the European places, albeit a long shot.
Leeds are sitting in the Premier League’s top ten and with the fear they bring to the table, they are going to prove to be a dangerous outfit from now until the final ball is kicked.
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