‘Poor’: BBC pundit criticises Raphinha during Leeds draw with Palace

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Chris Sutton has told BBC Sport that he thought it was poor from Raphinha to go to ground theatrically during the first-half of Leeds United’s draw with Crystal Palace on Monday.

Jesse Marsch’s men secured what could prove to be a valuable point against the Eagles. However, they left their supporters chewing through their fingernails.

Leeds were poor at Selhurst Park. And they were grateful for Illan Meslier for making a number of saves to keep the home side at bay.

It was an incredibly scrappy affair, with both teams committing a number of fouls. And one of those incidents involved Raphinha as he clashed with Wilfried Zaha.

The Palace winger put his hand into Raphinha’s face as he looked to fend the Brazilian off. Ultimately, the referee decided to give a free-kick to the visitors.

Nevertheless, Sutton expressed his disappointment with how Raphinha went to ground, suggesting that it was too dramatic.

“How much contact was there? It is a shove off with the palm of his hand, Raphinha goes down like he has been smashed to the ground with a shovel. Does he really need to go down like that? He is better than that. That is poor. It is getting fiery,” he told BBC Sport.

Raphinha will be more disappointed he couldn’t help Leeds to win

It was a frustrating evening for Leeds. They did not look like scoring. And they only created a handful of half-chances.

Raphinha was one of those who could not quite make things happen against Palace. He showed glimpses at times, but he was not quite able to produce the sort of magic he has previously managed against the Eagles.

He will be annoyed that he could not make the difference. But Leeds have kept themselves in a decent position in the battle to stay in the league.

And with Raphinha in the ranks, Leeds always have every chance of producing a massive result.