Back down to earth
Six days after the best Leeds United performance in front of fans for nearly 900 days, the Whites were brought back down to earth in a fashion typical to Brighton & Hove Albion. In short, the Seagulls have the Whites’ number.
That’s now five consecutive meetings in the Premier League, since United’s return to the top flight, where Brighton have been on top for decent spells and deserving of victory. Marcelo Bielsa or Jesse Marsch, Graham Potter knows how to get at Leeds.
There was always the fear after a high like Sunday’s there would be a reversion to the mean for a club that finished fourth-bottom last season. Many have Leeds pegged for mid-table finishers next May and this is what mid-table outfits do, peak and trough.
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Marsch could see the writing on the wall from early in the first half when his players failed to simply follow the game plan they had been briefed on. Freestyling is the word the head coach used after the match, his players were doing their own thing and bringing down the overall effect of the team as a whole.
The key takeaway from East Sussex is don’t panic and don’t overreact to one poor performance. On Thursday, Marsch warned Chelsea was the kind of match where the stars align and that really does not happen all too often.
Yes, Saturday was difficult, but Leeds will recover and return to something closer to what was seen in the demolition of the Blues last weekend.
Meslier’s trajectory holds steady
In case you had not worked it out yet, Illan Meslier is the next big-money asset Leeds have on their hands. The French stopper will already be on the transfer shortlists for Europe’s best clubs and 2022/23 has the hallmarks of his breakthrough campaign.
Meslier has had his high points since arriving in 2019, but as with any young goalkeeper, he has had errors in him. Now 22 and being encouraged into a leadership role by Marsch, Meslier looks ready to step out of the shadows of Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips as the new pin-up boy.
Already, in each of the four games so far this season, there have been stand-out moments of quality from Meslier. The case was no different in Falmer, where the number one kept the score down at times.
Solly March was memorably denied twice. The winger saw a first-half effort well held, but in the second half he was through on goal with just Meslier to beat. The Frenchman flew off his line and charged down the shot by keeping himself as big as possible.
Meslier was man of the match and the best of a bad bunch at Brighton. It won’t be the last time we type that.
The door opens for the first tactical change of the season
The only change Marsch has made to his line-up since the opening day was enforced by Patrick Bamford’s groin injury. Daniel James came in for the Chelsea game and rightly stayed in after last weekend’s exploits.
However, the door is ajar for a first tactical shift from Marsch. James himself failed to make any kind of attacking impact at Brighton and with Luis Sinisterra getting sharper by the day, there has to be a temptation to roll the dice.
Marsch emphasised he will try to keep his emotions at bay when it comes to deciding Tuesday’s plan for Everton, but Sinisterra’s tag as Raphinha’s replacement, his Feyenoord track record and Wednesday’s performance must loom large for him.
Liam Cooper, assuming his calf issue is as minor as Marsch says, is the other candidate for a first league start of the season. Diego Llorente regressed to something like last season’s clumsiest form on Saturday and a steady pair of captain’s hands could be needed alongside the quietly impressive Robin Koch.
Referee problems
Michael Salisbury was officiating just the fifth Premier League match of his career and it showed in East Sussex. The man in the middle should never end up being the centre of attention and he was, from early on.
An eighth-minute yellow card for Pascal Struijk, which was the match’s first offence let alone his, was over the top and unnecessary. It set the tone for the match and the visitors would have three cautions before the 38th minute. Brighton would not get their first until the 82nd.
Of course, United’s poor display cannot be attributed to Salisbury and they deserved to lose, but the refereeing was a talking point for all of the wrong reasons.
A four-day window
If the transfer talk could not have been quieter one week ago, Leeds have lost just at the point where the noise will rise on incomings before the window closes. There are four days to run and a blunt display like yesterday’s is doing nothing for those happy to keep the squad as it is through 11pm on Thursday.
A different striker would not have single-handedly turned the tide in Saturday’s loss, but when the Whites lose and Rodrigo blanks for the first time this season, it’s a stick easily within reach to beat the club with. It will be interesting to see how the rapidly-approaching deadline focuses minds at Elland Road.
Rodrigo has started the season like a house on fire, but the previous two years would suggest that streak’s not going to last. Bamford’s now missed three consecutive squads Marsch said he would be close to making, while Joe Gelhardt is too young to be expected to deliver a consistently high level.
The outcome of Tuesday’s clash with Everton could be the clincher on a decision in either direction.
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