Leeds United star Illan Meslier stuns commentators in 1-0 win v Leicester
Tony Dorigo and Bryn Law were left stunned by a late save from Leeds United goalkeeper Ilian Meslier in the 1-0 win over Leicester City.
Daniel Farke’s side ran out 1-0 winners over the Championship leaders on Friday (3 November) thanks to Georginio Rutter’s second-half strike to keep them in the hunt for the automatic promotion places.
Despite dominating spells of possession, Enzo Maresca’s side were unable to really create a clear-cut chance in the match, but Dorigo and Law could not believe how Meslier kept out Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s stoppage-time effort.
Commentating on footage shared by Leeds’ Twitter account (4 November) Law said: “What a save from Melsier, incredible stop from the goalkeeper. Right underneath the crossbar, it was going in and he clawed it away.”
Dorigo was also impressed, saying: “Incredible. How has he plucked that out the top corner, I don’t know.”
Important moments
To be successful in the Championship, Leeds United will need their most important players to step up in the biggest moments of matches and while one save won’t define a season, Meslier’s intervention could prove to be crucial at the King Power on Friday.
The Frenchman has been criticised in the past with supporters often divided on whether or not he is good enough to be the Whites’ number one, but on Friday he demonstrated why Farke has put his faith in him so far this season.
While Rutter’s goal will steal the headlines for earning Leeds the win, Meslier’s save was just crucial to ensuring that the Whites came away with all three points and has in turn kept them well and truly in the race for the automatic promotion places.
The 23-year-old only had one save to make in the entire match, but Dewsbury-Hall’s effort had an xG of 0.98 as it was headed towards the top corner, meaning that Meslier really had no right to claw it out from underneath his crossbar.
While Friday was a step in the right direction, Melsier is more than likely going to have to produce a few more of those sorts of displays to keep Leeds in the hunt for the automatic promotion places.
In other Leeds United news, Farke has admitted that he and the 49ers still have work to do at Elland Road