Sky Sports pundit slams ‘silly’ Leeds United incident in 5-1 Premier League loss v Crystal Palace
Andy Hinchcliffe has hit out at Marc Roca after the Leeds United midfielder was involved in a “silly” incident during the Whites’ 5-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.
It was an eye-opening afternoon for Javi Gracia’s side who were swept aside by a brilliant counterattacking performance from the Eagles.
Talking on Sky Sports commentary, Hinchcliffe reacted to an incident involving the Spanish midfielder and Palace full-back Jeffrey Schlupp.
“There’s a bit of silliness there with Roca and Schlupp,” said Hinchcliffe (Sky Sports, 14:24, 9 April).
“Simon Hooper has done exactly the right thing saying ‘shut up lads, listen to me don’t do anything silly’, it’s a high pressure and nervy game.
“It’s good to see the referee acknowledge it’s a difficult game and to just keep your cool.”
Back to Earth
Leeds crashed back down to Earth with a fairly significant bang on Sunday. The feel-good factor from the Nottingham Forest win has completely disappeared and the threat of relegation is well and truly back on the agenda.
Palace were better than Leeds in every single aspect in the second half and the Yorkshire side can have absolutely no complaints about the result. The Whites’ fragility to being counterattacked is a real concern and with Liverpool the next team to make the trip to Elland Road, it’s something Gracia has to work on.
The likes of Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez could cause havoc if given time and space, much like Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise did for Roy Hodgson’s men.
Let’s hope this is a massive wake-up call for the players and the coaching staff. They must find a way of becoming more resilient defensively.
It’s time for Gracia to earn his money and pull Leeds out of what is a low point in the 2022/23 campaign.
In other Leeds United news, find out what our exclusive pundit had to say on a potential Elland Road exit.