Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch has revealed that he held a meeting with Leeds duo Kristoffer Klaesson and Illan Meslier last week.
In their last Premier League match, the Whites picked up a vital three points in their plight for survival as they beat relegation rivals Watford 3-0 at Vicarage Road.
Heading into the game, the Leeds manager has revealed that Meslier – who started and kept a clean sheet – was a doubt and had to make a ‘miraculous recovery’ to be fit to play.
Will Kristoffer Klaesson make it at Leeds?
Yes
No
Indeed, while speaking to the press after the game, he told the Yorkshire Evening Post that he held a meeting with Klaesson and Meslier on the day of the match, before making a call on who would play against the Hornets.
Speaking after the game on Saturday, Marsch said: “On Thursday I would have thought Kristoffer Klaesson would have been the ‘keeper today. Illan was fantastic. He’s three weeks later still struggling with that [knock at Wolves]. It was a bit of a miraculous recovery given how he felt two days ago.
“I had a meeting with him and Kristoffer Klaesson today, I said I know goalkeepers like to have rhythm, it’s a sensitive decision but we needed a big performance from whoever and certainly Illan, where he didn’t train, delivered one of his best performances of the season and was incredibly stable.”
TIF thoughts on Kristoffer Klaesson, Illan Meslier and Leeds…
Considering the scoreline and the fact that Marsch felt Meslier put in ‘one of his best performances of the season’, it’s safe to say that the decision found in that meeting was the right one.
Even so, perhaps Klaesson will be feeling a little disappointed not to have featured. After all, he has played just 35 minutes of football all season – so this would have been a rare opportunity for him to impress.
Ultimately, though, that win leaves Leeds nine points above the bottom three with only six games to play. Those three points may well be enough to see the club survive the drop, and so both goalkeepers and the manager should be feeling happy enough right now.
In other news: ‘You can’t give up on a kid’ – Journalist furious at what’s just emerged out of Leeds