The Championship certainly didn't disappoint again when Middlesbrough and Leeds United faced off at the Riverside Stadium, a seven goal thriller making it an enthralling must-watch for the neutral.
No doubt, Whites fans watching on would have preferred a more straightforward affair but were thankful all the same for Crysencio Summerville's heroics once more against Michael Carrick's stubborn hosts to win the back-and-forth game 4-3.
The Dutchman bagged himself a brace to help steer Daniel Farke's men back up to second spot for the time being, a superstar showing from Leeds' consistent top performer.
Crysencio Summerville's performance vs Boro in numbers
Those two strikes take Summerville's stunning goal total for the season up to 20 strikes in all competitions, with his second on the night a trademark curling effort from his repertoire.
He also teed up Wilfried Gnonto for the crucial third Leeds goal at the Riverside, fortunate that the linesman didn't flag the Italian's effort as offside after cutting open the Boro defence to put it on a plate for the 20-year-old.
It was a devastatingly effective attacking display from the former Feyenoord man turned Leeds hero, only needing 40 touches in the game to wreak absolute havoc when charging forward past a stunned Boro defence.
Leeds would have been thankful for Summerville stepping up to the mark, when assessing Illan Meslier's shaky display in between the sticks versus Carrick's men.
Minutes played
90
Touches
40
Goals
2
Assists
1
Key passes
2
Duels won
4/12
If it hadn't been for the slick Whites number ten grabbing the game by the scruff of its neck, Leeds might well have dropped even more points with the Frenchman unconvincing throughout.
Illan Meslier's performance vs Boro in numbers
The 24-year-old 'keeper struggled against Boro, unable to pick up another clean sheet by leaking three avoidable goals.
A mix-up at the back resulted in Boro's opening goal of the evening, a tangle between Joe Rodon and Meslier allowing Isaiah Jones to tap home into an empty net.
Emmanuel Latte Lath was a constant thorn in the side of Leeds in the huge clash alongside Jones, with the Ivorian's equaliser too fierce for Meslier to save despite the Frenchman initially getting a glove on the effort.
His looped header over the 6 foot 6 'keeper also made the final exchanges at the Riverside far nervier than they needed to be from a Whites point of view, a ball over the top catching out the Leeds defence before Latte Lath instinctively headed over a hapless Meslier.
On the night, the ex-Lorient man would only end up making two saves with Boro clearly buoyed on by the 24-year-old's unsteady display as a result.
Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth would hand out a low 5/10 rating to Meslier at the full-time whistle consequently, whilst Summerville was rewarded with a far higher 9/10 rating for his efforts.
Smyth would describe Meslier's performance as 'flappy', with Farke just breathing a major sigh of relief at the end that the shot-stopper's poor showing didn't end up costing his side an invaluable three points in the ongoing automatic promotion race – with any slip up set to be fatal such is the tight nature of things at the top.
It looks very unlikely that Farke will think about dropping Meslier anytime soon, with a lack of bodies at his disposal that could do a more impactful job, but he will want far more from his number one when Leeds travel to Queens Park Rangers this coming Friday night in yet another crunch clash at the top of the division.
8/10 Leeds star just showed he’s way too good for the Championship
The Whites attacker put in a phenomenal performance on the flank for the manager on Monday night.
ByDan EmeryApr 23, 2024
