Just as Leeds United fans thought they had turned a corner under the guidance of new coach Javi Gracia, reality came in hard and smacked them in the nose. Four defeats in the last five games were painful and demoralising, and the guy who suffered the most is goalkeeper Illan Meslier, who conceded a bucketload of goals as Leeds lost 5-1 to Crystal Palace, 6-1 to Liverpool and 2-1 to Fulham in their last three Premier League fixtures.🗣️ “If we’ve conceded eleven goals in the last two games, it’s not for the keeper.”Javi Gracia on Illan Meslier who has come under criticism recently at Leeds. 🧤 pic.twitter.com/uZ11tupdWc— Football Daily (@footballdaily) April 20, 2023 The 23-year-old French goalkeeper has been irreplaceable for Leeds since he joined the Yorkshire team in 2019 from Ligue 1 club Lorient. He helped the Peacocks reach the Premier League and take the top tier by storm under Marcelo Bielsa’s guidance. But then the problems arrived and Leeds have been struggling dangerously close to the bottom three for the last two years. Meslier has been a nailed-on starter for Leeds, but recently the fans have been calling for the Frenchman to be benched in favour of Joel Robles.”It’s a big call to drop your goalkeeper.””I would take him out for his good and the team’s good.”Joe Cole shares why he thinks it’s time for Illan Meslier to be replaced in the Leeds goal 🧤 pic.twitter.com/OVRJmfvWwR— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 22, 2023 The stats tell their story. Of the 20 Premier League goalkeepers, Meslier has the second-lowest number of clean sheets. Southampton’s Gavin Bazunu is the worst with four, while Bournemouth Neto and Meslier have one more. Looking at the shots saved percentage, Meslier is third-bottom with 58.9% shots saved, with only Bazunu and, somewhat surprisingly, Manchester City’s Ederson below him.##NAJAVA_MECA_7208915##However, Gracia believes in Meslier and says the whole team is to blame for the leaky defence. The head coach insists he has been pleased with the way his number one has dealt with the criticism that has come his way, while he has also suggested the goalkeeper hasn’t been helped by the club’s defensive shortcomings.”Illan reacts well, as usual. He always trains well, he has a very good character. He is always trying to improve like the rest of the players, and in this case, it is no different. We are conceding a lot of goals in the last games, and it is something we need to do better. We spoke about that already: it is not only about the keeper, it is about the team. We need to defend better; if we defend better, the keeper will always be better. I back all my players.”Illan Meslier has now conceded 13 goals from the last 17 shots on-target faced.Made a couple of smart stops today but also made two costly errors. Form all over the shop. #LUFC pic.twitter.com/11x6N1MO96— LUFCDATA (@LUFCDATA) April 22, 2023 Leeds will have to break what Gracia called a “vicious cycle” to overcome relegation rivals Leicester City at Elland Road tonight. Both clubs hover just above the relegation zone, but enter the game in a slightly different mood. While the home side feels vulnerable after three successive losses, Leicester City’s new boss Dean Smith is arriving after a 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on the back of a losing run of their own. “After the last three defeats, we have to do something different. Let the people know your desire, in the moments in the games, you have to do it. In training, I can feel it. Then we have to demonstrate on the field in the next game.”PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 33Tuesday21.30: (2.50) Wolverhampton (3.20) Crystal Palace (3.20)21.45: (1.85) Aston Villa (3.50) Fulham (4.40)22.00: (2.45) Leeds (3.50) Leicester (3.00)Wednesday21.30: (5.90) Nott.Forest (4.00) Brighton (1.58)21.45: (4.20) West Ham (3.60) Liverpool (1.95)21.45: (1.70) Chelsea (3.60) Brentford (5.30)22.00: (1.60) Man.City (4.10) Arsenal (6.25)Thursday21.45: (5.10) Everton (3.60) Newcastle (1.80)21.45: (2.35) Southampton (3.40) Bournemouth (3.25)22.15: (3.00) Tottenham (3.50) Man.Utd. (2.45)***odds are subject to change
