Leeds United ended their torrid run of form with a sensational win against Liverpool at Anfield, yet despite a late winner from Crysencio Summerville, it was Illan Meslier who stole the headlines.
The 22-year-old goalkeeper had one of the best performances of his career to date as the French youngster made an astonishing nine saves to keep Leeds in the match at to doom Liverpool to yet another defeat, their first in the Premier League with Virgil van Dijk ever since the defender’s move to Anfield back in 2019.
Praise has, of course, been high for Meslier, with the youngest no. 1 in the Premier League taking much of the plaudits from the English media from the traditional papers as well as pundits. And the youngster has also caused quite the stir in his native France.
As a nation that has prided themselves in producing world-class goalkeepers, Meslier is shaping up to potentially become Les Bleus’ starting shot-stopper in the years to come given his incredible experience at such a young age. And last night’s display against Liverpool had some big outlets calling for the Leeds star to head out to Qatar.
GFFN make World Cup call for Meslier after ‘outstanding’ Liverpool display
With Mike Maignan set to miss the 2022 FIFA World Cup, predicting who will start for France between the sticks is quite the tough call to make given the unconvincing form of national team captain Hugo Lloris. Yet for GFFN, Meslier could make a claim for a spot in the squad after his performance against Liverpool.
https://twitter.com/GFFN/status/1586454642141319168
Whilst L’Equipe don’t make such a bold a claim, the French sports daily were very kind on Meslier after his display against Liverpool, with the paper hailing the keeper as ‘outstanding’ and ‘a giant’ for the Whites in what could be their biggest Premier League result under Jesse Marsch.
Ouest France continue the praise for Meslier with the website lauding the 22-year-old as ‘very good’ in denying Liverpool the three points at Anfield. With Le Matin describing the keeper’s performance on Saturday night as ‘quite incredible’.
Indeed, praise has been high for Meslier this weekend, and deservedly so. And with French media now calling for the Leeds star to potentially go to the World Cup, a case could be made in the coming weeks for the youngster to book himself a spot to Qatar.
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