MOT Stats: How Meslier league debut stacked up v Casilla as Leeds thrash Hull
Illan Meslier made his league debut for Leeds United on Saturday as they beat Hull City 4-0 at the KCOM Stadium.
Although the 19-year-old misplaced a few passes in the first half, he grew into the game and gave a solid account himself.
But the most important thing about the French teenager’s performance that he kept a clean sheet as Leeds earned their fourth victory in a row to further strengthen their bid for automatic promotion to the Premier League.
Hull were never going to be a ridiculously tough opponent for Leeds but after Kiko Casilla was hit with an eight-match ban by the FA on Friday, the fact that rarely-seen Meslier has to come in and replace him was enough to warrant some concerns.
Meslier performed well in what was his only Leeds appearance before the trip to Hull when he played in goals for the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup in January.
But that was just one game and it was yet to be seen whether that was a one-off or the on-loan goalkeeper was the real deal.
And while he’s only made that two appearances now, the signs against Hull were more than encouraging.
As mentioned, Meslier did misplace some passes in the first half as he conceded possession the Hull, who in fairness did well at times to put the teenager under pressure.
But according to stats by WyScout, Meslier ended the match with an 88 per cent short pass completion ratio having found the intended target with 22 of his 25 passes.
In comparison, Casilla’s average pass completion this season is 97.5 per cent but the 33-year-old has also only averaged 13.7 short passes per game – a lot less than what Meslier managed on Humberside.
When called on for his goalkeeping duties, Meslier also impressed.
On three occasions, he used his long arms to pluck the ball out of the air on dangerous situations. Casilla’s season-average is 1.5 per game.
As for saves, it is hard to use stats to say whether or not a goalkeeper did well because it depends on how good the shot at goal is more than anything. However for the sake of this, Meslier made two saves at Hull, although both were rather tame efforts that went straight at him.
Meslier can hold his head up high after that performance and it bodes well for the next seven games as Casilla sees out his ban.
The Spaniard does not seem likely to appeal against the punishment he received from the FA on Friday so Leeds fans should get comfortable with the idea of Meslier starting every game until the ex-Real Madrid man returns.
However if he continues to do well and keeps on earning clean sheets then maybe Casilla’s return to the starting line-up won’t be guaranteed.
In other Leeds United news, Jonathan Leko sent a two-word message to this Leeds player on Instagram on Saturday.