Still, Leo stepped onto the pitch and showed why he had that many minutes under his belt.
His first touch was simple, but his second was anything but that.
He received possession under pressure, took it across his body, and played a pass into a space that had not existed when the ball reached his feet.
A Palace midfielder tried to follow him, but Leo was already gone.
The next few minutes began to reveal exactly why Dawson had eventually decided to use him.
Palace's midfield had been moving quickly throughout the first half, but against Leo, it suddenly looked slow.
He wasn't simply running past people.
He was making decisions before they had finished making theirs.
One touch to escape pressure here.
Two touches to draw another player toward him there, and then a pass sent somewhere else entirely before minds could even guess.
He could speed the game up when Wigan needed an attack and slow it down when Palace began threatening to regain control.
