At a Glance
- Crystal Palace held to a 0-0 draw by Leeds
- Canvot went viral celebrating a red card
- The French defender continues to impress
Crystal Palace defender Jaydee Canvot’s reaction to Leeds United left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson’s sending off has caused a stir online. The Eagles couldn’t make the most of the one-man advantage and settled on yet another 0-0 draw.
That was the same result that occurred when Palace met AEK Larnaca in the first leg of their Europa Conference League Round of 16 tie on Thursday. Glasner made several changes to his team, including omitting Dean Henderson from the squad due to illness.
Canvot kept his place in the team amid a fine debut season at Selhurst Park. The 19-year-old arrived from Toulouse last summer in a £23m deal.
The French centre-back rarely put a foot wrong against Leeds and continues to impress in Glasner’s back three. He won both of his tackles, made 14 clearances, won his two ground duels and five of his seven aerial duels.
A drama-filled draw
The visitors had several chances in the first half, including a Dominic Calvert-Lewin header, which was denied by Walter Benitez. Goalline technology also came to the hosts’ rescue.
Calvert-Lewin then missed a penalty with an awful effort that went wide of Benitez’s goal. But the game took a twist in the 45+5th minute when Gudmondsson brought Ismaila Sarr down.
The Swede was already on a yellow card and, as a result, was handed his marching orders for a second bookable offence. Jefferson Lerma thought he’d scored in the 78th minute when he reacted to a save from Brennan Johnson’s header to find the net from close range.
VAR intervened and adjudged Johnson to have been offside, and as a result, the goal was ruled out. A point a piece in a cagey game but one of the main talking points was Canvot.
Canvot causes controversy
Canvot was caught celebrating Gudmondsson’s sending off, and it’s fair to say his response has divided opinion. Not amongst Palace fans who loved seeing the young Frenchman punch his fist as if he’d just scored a goal.
One fan responded to a clip: “Canvot is top class (laughing face).”
Another added: “Haha my f**king centre-back.”
OurCPFC wrote: “Passion.”
A huge backlash from other Premier League fans resulted after Sky Sports posted Canvot’s celebration. One supporter told others: “Honestly everyone needs to lighten up this is funny.”
Rival fans took offence and suggested it was “unsportsmanlike” and “shocking.” One even replied: “This is why people are turning their backs on the Premier League.”
Rattled is the best way to describe those who weren’t happy with Canvot’s actions. But for the French defender, it was another excellent outing, and he’s taken no time whatsoever to adapt to the English game and understand its culture.
