Illan Meslier has had plenty of matches at Elland Road this season where he’s nothing more than a spectator, but the same cannot be said for Leeds United’s win over Middlesbrough.
The Whites were forced to battle to secure their ninth successive home victory in the Championship, eventually running out 3-1 winners.
Michael Carrick hailed Leeds as ‘Premier League‘ quality after the match but at the same time, was disappointed his side came away empty handed.
Boro were one of the only sides to have visited Leeds this season and not park the bus and after equalising in the second half through Max Wober’s own goal, had a couple of chances to go ahead.
Liverpool loanee Den Doak certainly had the best of them, but was smothered well by Meslier just as he had gone to shoot.
Farke shares what Illan Meslier has been doing in Leeds training recently
Meslier’s performances this season have certainly come under plenty of scrutiny from Leeds fans and with all due respect, rightly so.
Meslier’s late error in the draw at Sunderland was catastrophic, but it is also his overall shot saving percentage which is among the lowest for goalkeepers in the Championship.
Leeds managed to restrict Boro to just six shots on the night but they were of a considerably better quality than what most sides have created at Elland Road this season.
As such, Farke wanted to reserve special praise for Meslier in his post-match press conference, which is clever management from the Leeds boss as it’s not often that has been the case in recent times.
He told BBC journalist Adam Pope that Meslier has been doing ‘extra training sessions’ with goalkeeper coach Ed Wootten, something which paid off against Boro with some ‘big saves in key moments’.
Meslier attitude a good sign for Leeds
It is good to hear Meslier knows that improvement simply had to be made following his start to the season.
Leeds have one of the best defensive records in the division this term and with all due respect, 90 per cent of that is down to those in front of him.
The team have been working very hard to ensure Meslier faces as little shots on target as possible, but that can’t always be the case.
Meslier hasn’t been bailing his defenders out enough whenever he has been called into action but if last night can be the start of a good run of form, then his work on the training pitch will have paid off.
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