Fewer touches than Meslier: Farke must finally drop 3/10 Leeds star
da apostaganha： Leeds United have only picked up one point from their last two matches and it has left their place in the automatic promotion spots vulnerable heading into midweek.
da 888casino： After Burnley and Sheffield United both won on Saturday, the Whites are now only above the Blades on goal difference and are only two points ahead of Scott Parker’s team in third.
The West Yorkshire outfit failed to extend their lead at the top of the table when they went to Fratton Park on Sunday, as they were beaten 1-0 by the newly-promoted outfit.
Daniel Farke will surely be frustrated with the lack of clinical edge that his team displayed in the defeat, as Leeds missed three ‘big chances’ and created 2.27 xG.
The German head coach may also be frustrated by some of the performances of his players. Much-talked-about goalkeeper Illan Meslier, for example, did himself few favours for the winning goal.
Illan Meslier's performance against Portsmouth
The French goalkeeper, who has made two errors that have directly led to goals this season, only faced three shots on target in the match and conceded once.
Meslier was indecisive with the ball that was played in behind for Colby Bishop and hesitated multiple times before committing too late and flopping to the floor, giving the Pompey striker all the room he needed to lift the ball over him.
Whilst it is easy to say with hindsight, the former Lorient man should have come out quicker, instead of hesitating, to clear the danger, or he should have remained big to make the block, instead of opening up the lob opportunity for Bishop, once he realised it was too late to get the ball first.
Of course, blame also lies at the feet of Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk, who allowed the attacker to run off them, but the left-footed stopper may also not be best pleased with his part in the goal.
Chalkboard
The 25-year-old goalkeeper, who had 65 touches and completed 59% of his attempted passes, was not the sole reason behind the defeat for Leeds, however, as numerous other players struggled throughout the game, including centre-forward Joel Piroe.
Joel Piroe's struggles against Portsmouth
The Dutch attacker was selected to lead the line against Portsmouth and it seems to be a perfectly fine selection by Farke, given that he is the joint-top scorer in the Championship alongside Norwich City’s Borja Sainz.
Piroe had scored 15 goals in 25 starts prior to the clash at Fratton Park. This suggested that the Whites could rely upon him in front of goal if they created the chances for him in Hampshire.
As you can see in the clip above, however, that was not the case as the former Swansea City marksman missed a glorious opportunity to find the back of the net to make it 1-0 in the second half, when Manor Solomon appeared to put it on a plate for the striker.
Piroe, who had fewer touches (33) than Meslier, also missed a huge chance to score in the first half when he followed up on a save by Nicolas Schmid, only to fire his unmarked and unchallenged effort straight back at the Pompey goalkeeper.
Vs Portsmouth (A)
Joel Piroe
Minutes
90
xG
0.98
Big chances missed
2
Shots
2
Goals
0
Pass accuracy
75%
Duels won
5/11
Stats via Sofascore
The Dutchman, who also lost six of his 11 duels, racked up 0.98 xG from those two chances combined but failed to find the back of the net, both times with the score at 0-0, and it could have been a completely different match if the Whites had taken the lead instead of going behind.
Yorkshire Evening Post reporter Graham Smyth was critical in his assessment of the forward’s performance. The journalist awarded the striker a player rating of just 3/10, citing his big misses and lack of impact on the game.
With all of this in mind, Farke must finally drop the Dutch number nine from the starting XI for the midweek clash with Millwall at Elland Road on Wednesday, bringing Mateo Joseph in as his replacement.
Why Mateo Joseph should be given a chance
Piroe should be ruthlessly dropped to the bench after his struggles in the last two games, with zero goals and two ‘big chances’ missed against West Brom and Portsmouth as a starter.
This clash with Millwall on Wednesday is the second part of a three-game week and Farke must also keep in mind that he has a big squad to utilise, to ensure that his players do not suffer from burnout heading into the final weeks of the promotion race.
Therefore, now could be the perfect time for Piroe to be dropped from the starting line-up – after two subpar performances – in order to provide him with a much-needed rest, and Joseph with an opportunity to show what he can do.
The Spain U21 international’s last Championship start came against Derby County in a 1-0 win at Pride Park on the 29th of December, which shows that it has been a while since the academy graduate has had a chance to shine as a starter.
24/25
Joseph (per 90)
Percentile rank vs forwards
Non-penalty xG
0.37
Top 34%
Non-penalty goals
0.22
Bottom 35%
Expected Assisted Goals
0.14
Top 16%
Assists
0.22
Top 15%
Shot-creating actions
2.26
Top 23%
Stats via FBref
As you can see in the table above, Joseph – who has started 11 of his 35 league outings – does rank highly among his positional peers in the Championship in several key attacking metrics.
The 21-year-old ace, who was once described as “dynamite” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, gets himself into great positions, hence his high rank for xG, but has not converted enough of those opportunities into goals.
He has thrived as a creative presence in the final third, though, and could come in against Millwall to provide a foil for the likes of Solomon, Brenden Aaronson, and Dan James – or Wilfried Gnonto and Largie Ramazani if they are selected.
The right-footed Spaniard has created four ‘big chances’ in his 11 starts and could play a decisive pass to help his team to the win next time out.
Farke certainly has options to play with and should bring Joseph back into the XI, finally dropping Piroe, for this clash on Wednesday to freshen up the team and, hopefully, retain their place at the top of the Championship table.
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