Leeds United marked their return from the international break with a crucial 2-0 win over Sheffield United and a 2-1 victory over Watford.
Illan Meslier has had a couple of impressive bounce-back performances, only conceding one goal in these two fixtures after his mishap led to Sunderland drawing the contest before this past FIFA international window.
The Whites would be at the top of the Championship table if Meslier hadn’t let Junior Firpo’s 97th-minute back-pass bounce, which ended up giving Sunderland a point.
Former Leeds United goalkeeper Paul Robinson said the incident could affect the player’s confidence but highlighted that the Frenchman has the full support of his teammates.
“He did nothing wrong in the game,” Robinson told Football Insider. “He’s a good goalkeeper and he’s playing well, it’s just an unfortunate incident, but Meslier is a confidence goalkeeper. You see he thrives on confidence, and it is something that will knock his confidence.
“It is something that every time the ball goes near him for the next couple of weeks, the away fans, the home fans, wherever he’s playing, will remind him of. But the manager will stand by him, the dressing room have gathered around him from what I’m told.
“The best thing he can do is just get out there and play. The international break came at the worst time for him. You just want another game. You want to get it out of the way. Just get playing.“
Illan Meslier still has a long way to go to earn trust
While speaking to Football Insider, former Scotland international Frank McAvennie expressed his admiration for the way the 24-year-old has bounced back after his costly mistake in the 2-2 draw against Sunderland earlier in the season, but he also warned Leeds United that there’s still a long way to go.
“You’ve got to put your hands up and say yeah, because a lot of players would have went into themself, wouldn’t they?” McAvennie told the outlet. “He got a bit of stick but the problem with ‘keepers, strikers can miss a chance and people will slaughter them but it’s forgotten about in a day.
“But when a ‘keeper makes a mistake there is no way back for him, and that’s what it’s like for Meslier at the moment, so I would hate to be a goalkeeper. The back four are working hard and I think they’re getting to know each other and that’s what’s going to keep Leeds on track this season.
“The five defenders and the goalkeeper, I think they’re looking good at the moment. They’ve always scored goals, but they’re not scoring excess amount of goals, but they could have. They’re not doing it yet, but again, the defensive is doing well, so if the striker starts scoring goals, then they’ll go on a tremendous run.”
