Daniel Farke has been left impressed by Illan Meslier as Leeds United picked up a 2-0 win against Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night at Hillsborough.
The Whites were far from their usual best but they did enough to pick up all three points to move to second in the league, although Leicester City and Ipswich Town have both played a game less.
Farke said after the game that Leeds controlled the game really well against a side that won four games in a row before this game. The Whites boss said that they needed to tire the opponent and take the enthusiasm away, and that was the plan in the first half.
He has expressed his delight with the effort from Junior Firpo and Patrick Bamford and said Meslier made one “world-class” save. The Frenchman nearly spilled the ball though in the second half from a long-range effort, but Ethan Ampadu was there to clear the danger.
“There was one big chance when Illan [Meslier] made a world-class save but apart from this we were pretty much in control,” said Farke, as quoted by The Star.
“We had great chances with chipped balls to Georgie Rutter and Patrick Bamford, then scored just before half-time with a great cross from Junior Firpo and the perfect striker movement of Patrick Bamford. This helped a lot in tactical terms.”
Well deserved victory for Leeds
It was a well-deserved victory for the Whites who are pushing for the automatic promotion place.
Patrick Bamford and Wilfried Gnonto scored in both halves to secure all three points for Farke’s side who have managed 11 wins and a draw in their last 12 games in the Championship.
Meslier, 24, has been brilliant for the Whites this season. The French goalkeeper has conceded only 25 goals this season and made as many as 65 saves in 35 games he has played thus far.
Leeds have kept more clean sheets since the turn of the year. While Meslier has been outstanding, his job has been made easier by the two centre-backs – Ethan Ampadu and Joe Rodon – ahead of him.
