No one at Leeds United will have enjoyed that victory over Sheffield United more than Illan Meslier.
Meslier has had a difficult couple of weeks after his 97th minute mistake at Sunderland last time out but could not have asked for a better match to put that nightmare to bed.
Against the only remaining unbeaten side in the EFL, Leeds were absolutely dominant throughout as Sheffield United failed to register a single shot on target.
Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell outclassed a Blades midfield consisting of Vinicius Souza, Gustavo Hamer, Oli Arblaster and Callum O’Hare, showing Leeds may well just be able to get by without Ilia Gruev and Ethan Ampadu.
Pascal Struijk and Mateo Joseph were the men on the scoresheet for Daniel Farke‘s side, with the former netting Leeds’ first goal directly from a corner since his against Ipswich Town last December.
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What Meslier did to Sheffield United fans after Joseph goal
Having dominated for large periods, Leeds finally found their breakthrough thanks to Struijk around the midway point of the second half.
Sheffield United were forced to push forward more after Struijk’s opener and that opened up some space in behind for substitute Joseph when he came on, which hadn’t been there beforehand.
Fresh off the back of a hattrick for Spain U21s, Joseph latched onto a through ball by Piroe and did brilliantly to hold off the defender and finish past Cooper.
His goal alleviated any of the nerves around Elland Road after what happened at Sunderland last time out and according to Sky Sports commentator Daniel Mann, Meslier was quick to show it.
Meslier had been receiving some stick from those in red and white throughout the game and after Leeds put the game to bed, he was able to give it a little bit back, which will have felt so good.
He said: “A few points made there by Illan Meslier to those from Sheffield who have been barking at him all night.”
Meslier can forget about Leeds mistake
The spotlight was always going to be on Meslier after what he did at Sunderland and it would be fair to say Leeds’ defence couldn’t have protected him any better.
From Sheffield United’s first corner, Rhys Norrington-Davies was clearly looking to get under his skin a bit, but thankfully he was able to handle it.
Meslier is probably going to get that a lot over the next few weeks but the win over Sheffield United will help put that mistake firmly in the rear view mirror.
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