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“Daniel Farke Breaks Silence on Illan Meslier Criticism After Leeds United’s Shocking Draw at Hull City
Leeds United manager Daniel Farke refused to single out goalkeeper Illan Meslier for blame after his team squandered two points in a 3-3 draw at struggling Hull City.
The Whites were poor in the first half and rightly found themselves trailing due to Abu Kamara’s goal in the fifth minute. It could have been worse, as Regan Slater hit the post with a powerful shot, but that moment proved pivotal.
Leeds quickly responded after the break, with Ao Tanaka scoring his first goal for the club, curling a shot into the net after good work from Manor Solomon.
Dan James then completed the comeback in the 62nd minute, finishing off a pass from Jayden Bogle. Joel Piroe added a third, and Leeds seemed set for all three points. However, Hull had other plans, mounting a dramatic late rally.
Joao Pedro and Kamara both found the net in the final nine minutes, leaving Leeds frustrated. Meslier’s performance came under scrutiny as he failed to cover himself in glory for any of Hull’s goals.
Farke addressed the criticism of Meslier, stating: “When the goalkeeper makes one or two mistakes, it’s natural to talk about changes. But we don’t change a goalkeeper quickly like we would a full-back. There’s no rule that says a player can’t be dropped.
If a center-back scored several own goals, they would be dropped. However, after the game, I’m not going to point fingers.”
The draw extended Leeds’ unbeaten run in the Championship to eight matches and maintained their 17-match unbeaten streak in Yorkshire derbies.
Reflecting on the performance, Farke expressed frustration over the first-half display, saying: “The first half wasn’t sharp enough; we were just a couple of percent off. We had many good situations but didn’t finish them. It wasn’t ideal.
We conceded a cheap goal because we weren’t sharp enough. In the second half, I have to praise the response. We scored three goals and had chances for more, but it’s hard to explain how we conceded two late goals despite Hull not really creating much. When you concede three goals, it’s difficult to win the game, and after such a strong second-half performance, to leave with only one point is disappointing.”
