YEP journalist heaps praise on Leeds star for ‘remarkable’ recent achievement
Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth has heaped praise on Leeds United midfielder Mateusz Klich for breaking Gordon Strachan’s record of consecutive starts.
Smyth hailed the achievement as remarkable, as the Polish international made his 82nd consecutive appearance for the Whites in the 1-0 victory over Reading on Saturday.
According to Smyth, it is more special in the modern day with more players seemingly getting injured and suspended compared to the past.
Joe Urquhart also agreed with the claim, adding that the fact he has done it in such a gruelling division makes it even more impressive.
“Mateusz Klich has made 82 consecutive league starts, including two play-off semi-final games for Leeds United,” he said on the YEP’s Leeds Podcast.
“Taking him past Strachan, who had 81. Quite a remarkable run, in this day and age when footballers seem to get injured every five minutes or get dropped because of form or whatever or gets suspended, the fact that he’s made that many appearances, I think is fairly remarkable.”
Klich never cemented his spot with the Whites until Marcelo Bielsa arrived at the club. Managers such as Thomas Christiansen didn’t hand the 29-year-old an extended run in the side and even sent him out on loan.
The Polish international admittedly can’t believe it himself, but he has been superb in recent months. Klich has completed nearly 3000 minutes this season and has been involved in five goals.
His work effort in midfield both in attack and defence is clear. Klich averages 1.9 tackles per game according to WhoScored, but he also completes 1.8 key passes and shots in each outing – very impressive.
Next up? Getting to that 100 game mark, something that would require him to start games in the Premier League next season should we get there.
In other Leeds United news, Lee Bowyer has made a bold Championship claim including the Whites and Brentford