Crystal Palace mounted an incredible second-half comeback to give their Premier League survival prospects a big boost and left stunned Leeds with lots of work to do in their own drive to avoid relegation.
After the halftime, the Eagles scored four goals, including two from Jordan Ayew, who came on in place of the injured Wilfried Zaha.
After Patrick Bamford’s 50th goal for the club gave Leeds the prize their early domination deserved, such a victory appeared highly implausible.
But it all went downhill from there, with Marc Guehi equalising on the stroke of half-time before Palace scored two goals in two minutes soon after.
First, Ayew made it 2-1 with a superb header before Eberechi Eze scored quickly from Michael Olise’s ball.
Following a swift counter, Odsonne Edouard drilled a fourth into the bottom corner, and Ayew sealed the rout late on with a drive over Illan Meslier, leading many Leeds fans to leave.
Crystal Palace are now 12th in the Premier League, six points clear of the drop zone, while Leeds are 16th, just two points above the drop zone.
Palace’s resurgence continues under Hodgson
When Palace hired former manager Roy Hodgson at the end of last month, it aroused eyebrows after a long losing streak under Patrick Vieira had left them in danger of relegation.
The 75-year-old left the club at the end of the 2020-21 season but promised to return to aid his boyhood team one last time.
His influence was immediate and nothing short of astonishing.
Palace overcame Leicester 2-1 in his first game back, peppering the Foxes’ goal with 31 shots, and they followed that up with this spectacular thrashing of Leeds.
After riding their luck for 45 minutes, they produced a clinical performance in the second half, taking their chances as Leeds disintegrated.
With back-to-back victories, Palace are now out of the relegation zone, and it has taken Hodgson just over two weeks to practically perform the job for which he was hired.