Leeds United’s six-game unbeaten run within the Championship got here to an finish this weekend as they had been overwhelmed 3-1 by Southampton on Saturday.
The Whites had misplaced the match earlier than half-time as Russell Martin’s aspect ran riot with three objectives contained in the opening 35 minutes at St. Mary’s.
Pascal Struijk’s second half strike was nothing however a mere comfort because the Yorkshire-based aspect didn’t mount a severe comeback earlier than full-time.
How did Illan Meslier carry out towards Southampton?
One of many standout performers for Leeds, for the incorrect causes, was French goalkeeper Illan Meslier as he put in a poor show between the sticks.
The Whites primary was overwhelmed far too simply for the opening purpose as he got here out to shut down Adam Armstrong from an extremely tight angle and allowed the ahead to dink the ball over him as an alternative of standing up, which might have left the attacker with nearly nowhere to squeeze it in.
He had little likelihood with Will Smallbone’s well-placed end for the second purpose however was questionable once more for the third strike from the Saints as Armstrong’s shot from the same place to the primary bounced over his knee and into the far nook.
Meslier ended the match with two saves out of 5 pictures towards him and obtained the lowest Sofascore rating within the sport – for both aspect – with a rating of 6.3.
Ought to Illan Meslier be dropped?
Daniel Farke should now brutally ditch the Leeds primary from the beginning line-up as he has been a legal responsibility for the membership for the reason that begin of final season, with the Southampton match being the newest no-show.
The £30k-per-week gloveman, who was branded a “massive liability” by journalist David Kent final time period, endured a horrible 2022/23 marketing campaign within the Premier League as he constantly let in pictures that the typical goalkeeper would have been anticipated to maintain out.
As per FBref, Meslier conceded a whopping 12.4 extra objectives than anticipated objectives advised the typical goalkeeper would have conceded. This basically signifies that the Frenchman considerably underperformed as a shot-stopper and allowed too many poor-quality efforts to fly into his web.
The previous Lorient large, who made three errors that instantly led to objectives final season, has began all 9 of the membership’s Championship matches this time period and has, up to now, conceded 0.5 more than would usually be anticipated.
That is probably not fairly as giant as final time period but, however Leeds do have a goalkeeper on their bench who caught the attention along with his performances on mortgage with Hull Metropolis at this degree through the 2022/23 marketing campaign.
Karl Darlow impressed for the Tigers as he saved 1.7 more goals than expected throughout 12 Championship appearances on mortgage from Newcastle United.
The 32-year-old saved 71% of the efforts on his purpose, showcasing his means to be an above-average shot-stopper within the second tier.
Whereas, Meslier has a save success charge of 66.7% during the last twelve months, which locations him in the bottom 14% of his positional friends throughout leagues most much like the Championship.
Subsequently, Farke may enhance his workforce by dropping the 23-year-old from the beginning XI and unleashing Darlow for his full league debut, as a result of Englishman’s superior shot-stopping means.
