Leeds United failed to put pressure on Ipswich Town ahead of their game with Leicester City as they were beaten 2-1 by Preston North End on Boxing Day in the Championship.
The Whites lost to a fine header from Alan Browne, shortly after goalkeeper Illan Meslier was handed a straight red card for violent conduct, and a stunning finish from Liam Miller either side of a Pascal Struijk equaliser from the spot.
It was a day to forget for Daniel Farke’s side and his shot-stopper’s bad temper did little to help the team to pick anything up from Deepdale.
However, he was not the only player who struggled in Lancashire as teenage right-back Archie Gray endured a rough afternoon and let the head coach down with a poor display.
Why Illan Meslier was sent off against Preston
The Whites shot-stopper inexcusably decided to push the face of Milutin Osmajic with his glove and was instantly, and rightfully, handed a red card by the referee, as the Preston forward rolled around on the floor next to him.
Whilst the Deepdale attacker made the most of the incident, there is no hiding away from the fact that a player cannot shove an opponent in the face in that manner and expect to remain on the pitch.
What made it worse was that Meslier instigated the initial bust-up as he caught a wayward cross with ease and then decided to bump into, and seemingly say something to, Ben Whiteman when there was no need to.
Osmajic then arrived on the scene to bump into the goalkeeper and that caused the French giant to raise his hand towards the centre-forward.
Archie Gray’s performance against Preston in numbers
The 17-year-old defender showed his inexperience as Millar was able to get the better of him far too often and it could be argued that the manager should have withdrawn him way before the winger scored the winning goal.
It was a learning experience for Gray as the talented former Liverpool prospect used his quick feet and silky skills to constantly get past him.
Millar completed three of his five attempted dribbles and won nine of his 13 ground duels in total as he came out on top of the England U19 international in the physical battle.
The winger cut inside away from Gray, and past Daniel James, to whip in a stunning cross for Browne for the first goal and then whizzed past the full-back with ease before unleashing a terrific strike into the top corner for the winner.
Gray was a lightweight at Leeds for the back as he lost eight of his ten ground battles and one of his two aerial duels throughout the 90 minutes – nine of 12 in total.
The academy graduate, who completed 76% of his attempted passes, only completed two tackles and failed to make a single clearance, interception, or block, whilst he was also dribbled past twice.
These statistics show that the young full-back struggled throughout the match as Millar ran rings around him to win the match for Preston.
Gray and Meslier, for very different reasons, both let Farke down badly against Preston and the German tactician will be hoping for far better from the English talent next time out.
