Sam Allardyce said dropping Illan Meslier was not a decision he wanted to make on his return to top-flight football, but stand-in Joel Robles justified it with his performance at Manchester City.
Since making his league debut for the Whites against Hull City in March 2020, French Under-21 international Meslier had only missed three league games – one due to Covid-19 – until Saturday.
But recent high-profile and costly errors saw him replaced with former Wigan Athletic and Everton goalkeeper Robles. The 32-year-old had not played in the Premier League for six years and his only Everton game for Allardyce was in a Europa League dead rubber.
Other changes made by Allardyce saw Robin Koch dropped, Adam Forshaw added to the midfield and Willy Gnonto moved to the right as he swapped the back three played at Bournemouth for a surprisingly conservative 4-5-1 formation.
Despite a couple of errors in the face of incessant pressure, Robles limited treble-chasing City to two goals, both scored by Ilkay Gundogan. It should have been three but the German missed a penalty.
Allardyce claimed it was saved by Robles but if it was, the touch was very faint. Nevertheless, his display was enough to suggest Meslier’s season is effectively over.
And with Rodrigo coming off the bench to score an 85th-minute goal, it turned a game where Leeds would have feared a cricket score – not just beforehand but during the first half – into a very respectable defeat.
Asked how the 23-year-old reacted, Allardyce said: “Not very happy. I didn’t expect him to be very happy but I had to make the decision.
“It’s not a decision you actually want to make as a manager with your No 1 goalkeeper but with what we’d watched and what the staff (who were at the club before Allardyce arrived) were saying, I think the rest will do him a power of good.”
With the possibility of an injury or suspension ruling in the last three games, Allardyce has to be careful not to destroy Meslier, whose confidence looked shot in recent matches as Leeds broke their own Premier League record for most goals conceded in a month.
“I think he just gets on with his job with the goalkeeping coach,” said Allardyce. “They’re like fathers today.
“He can take all the time he needs with the goalkeeping coach and rebuild his confidence so when he gets the opportunity to come back, he’s back to his brilliant best.
“I know how brilliant he is from the times I’ve watched him on the telly and he’s played against me.
“It’s just a lack of confidence like everybody’s had. But unfortunately for a goalkeeper, they don’t get away with their mistakes, do they?”
Leeds remains 17th in the Premier League, above the relegation zone on goal difference with matches against Newcastle United, at home on Saturday, West Ham United (away, May 21), and Tottenham Hotspur (home, May 28) to add to their 30 points.
The other relegation candidates have four matches to play with Leicester City at Fulham, Everton at Europe-chasing Brighton and Hove Albion, and Nottingham Forest hosting bottom-placed Southampton on Monday.
That Leeds did not subside as they did against Crystal Palace, Liverpool, and Bournemouth in April is cause for confidence when Allardyce takes his team up against an in-form Newcastle.
“Newcastle plays differently from Manchester City and our key element this week will be how can we adapt to get the right system to play against Newcastle United,” he said.
“Our emphasis was to be on the counter-attack on Saturday. Whether you want to close Manchester City from the front or not you can’t, because they close you back.
“Newcastle, we’ll have a look at what they do out of possession and in possession and what system we will play from there and what players will be available to fit in that system.”
City manager Pep Guardiola was delighted with how his team dealt with the challenges Leeds posed them in a performance far more dominant than the scoreline suggested.
“I would love to play on Tuesday (at Real Madrid in a European Cup semi-final first leg) the way we played on Saturday,” he said. “We were really, really good.
“They played four at the back but with players in the pocket, it was six at the back so you have to read where the space is. Riyad (Mahrez) read where the men were free, as in every single game, Erling (Haaland) had two, three, or four chances to score. Erling played an exceptional game. All of them.
“At 2-0 it’s always open but until (Rodrigo’s goal) the game was really good.
“I didn’t rotate the team because I was thinking of Madrid, I did it because I felt some players were so tired. I take the Premier League so, so seriously.
“In October, November, and December you can drop points. Now the damage is huge so I would be naive to prioritise.”
Leave a Reply