Leeds United and Crystal Palace have certainly been involved in their fair share of noteworthy games over the last few years.
Of course, Saturday’s clash between the two is the first meeting since the Elland Road capitulation in April 2023 that made relegation suddenly seem inevitable for the Whites.
Can Leeds continue their recent resurgence against Crystal Palace? Let us know your predictions 🔮🦅
Elland Road has been a fortress this season.
The previous season, Raphinha had given Leeds a priceless three points with a stoppage-time penalty after Marc Guehi was penalised – following a VAR review – for handball.
One year earlier, the VAR had left Leeds infuriated after deeming Patrick Bamford to be offside when he had seemingly scored an equaliser at Selhurst Park. The margins could have hardly been smaller.
Marcelo Bielsa‘s men would eventually lose the game 4-1.
Unsurprisingly, Bielsa was asked about the call to disallow Bamford’s strike. But it was a decision of his own that was also under the microscope following the game.
The ‘strange’ decision Marcelo Bielsa made for Leeds United’s 2020 trip to Crystal Palace
Although the 2020/21 season proved to be the high point of Bielsa’s time in West Yorkshire, the campaign did see the club say goodbye to arguably its most important player since relegation in 2004.
And the loss at Palace really marked the beginning of the end.
Bielsa left Pablo Hernandez out of the squad for the trip to the capital. The Spaniard had shown his frustration after being substituted in the loss to Leicester earlier in the week. So it certainly seemed ominous that he was not involved against Palace.
In his place, Bielsa promoted Jack Jenkins to the bench.
No single player had a bigger hand in getting Leeds promoted than Hernandez. The magician was the one bright spark for much of his spell.
And even after Bielsa arrived and transformed several of his teammates, Hernandez remained the Whites’ talisman. He scored nine goals and contributed nine assists in the season promotion was secured.
No one will ever forget the moment Hernandez scored the winner at Swansea which put Leeds on the brink of getting across the line.
What Marcelo Bielsa said about Pablo Hernandez’s absence at Selhurst Park
Fans were left in the odd position of hoping that the 35-year-old had missed the Palace game because he had suffered another injury. However, Bielsa would confirm afterwards that he had been dropped.
“[Jamie] Shackleton received a knock in training yesterday and Pablo is fit and he was not in the squad for today’s game,” he said, as reported by Leeds Live at the time.
“I evaluate all the players for the upcoming game and I didn’t pick him for this game. The decision may seem strange but I chose the 18 players who I feel are most apt for the game,” he went on to add.
Hernandez would return to the match day squad just over a month later. However, it quickly became apparent that the attacking midfielder’s days at the club were numbered.
Would you like to see Pablo Hernandez return to Elland Road as manager one day? 🧙♂️
El Mago has opened up on the ongoing influence of El Loco, Marcelo Biel
I’ve been lucky enough to have had some truly great coaches, and if I had to pick one who has influenced me the most, it would be Bielsa.
He’s a top coach who gets the absolute best out of his teams and players. There are many things I’ve learned from him.When he arrived at Leeds, I was already in the final stages of my career and thought I knew everything there was to know about football, and he helped me take that extra step.
Pablo Hernandez speaking to Marca
Many of the things I see in football now I’ve picked up from him.
He would go on to make one more league start for Leeds. That would come on the final day of the season – after it had already been announced that Hernandez and cult hero Gaetano Berardi would be leaving in the summer.
Hernandez so nearly got to enjoy one final moment where he sent Elland Road into a frenzy in a 3-1 win over West Brom. But the reception as he left the field during the second-half provided an indication of what he meant to the fans he had taken back to football’s promised land.
A hug with Bielsa also felt significant given everything they had been through together.
However, there is no question that the season was far from a fitting swan song for Hernandez.
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