Fewer touches than Meslier: Graham Smyth slams anonymous Leeds man who made just 15 passes

Everton hammered Leeds United 3-0 in the Premier League at Goodison Park on Saturday thanks to goals from defensive duo Seamus Coleman and Michael Keane, whilst Anthony Gordon added a third to put the nail in the coffin for Marco Bielsa’s side.

The opening goal came after just 10 minutes via Coleman and then matters got worse for the Whites after 23 minutes when Keane doubled the home team’s lead. Things went from bad to worse for Bielsa’s side when Gordon got the final touch to Richarlison’s shot in the 78th minute to make the score 3-0.

As you would expect from a comprehensive defeat, The Yorkshire Evening Post’s Graham Smyth was critical of many Leeds players in his post-match ratings.

Mateusz Klich was given a particularly bad score by Smyth (4), who said that the Poland international “couldn’t control the midfield on his own, looked isolated and did little to stand out.”

Such criticism is unsurprising given that the midfielder was Leeds’ lowest-rated player as per Sofascore‘s ratings, being hauled off at half-time after losing five of his six duels, completing only 15 passes and losing possession nine times. Indeed, he even had fewer touches than goalkeeper Illan Meslier as he badly struggled to get on the ball in the time that he was on the pitch.

As per WhoScored, he ranks a lowly 16th in the Whites’ squad in terms of overall performance rating, a far from glowing summary of his displays this season.

Despite being a favourite of Bielsa, the 26-year-old has ‘struggled for form’ this season and was handed a lifeline by staying at Elland Road beyond the January transfer window, with Leeds failing to sign anyone in his position last month.

If Kalvin Phillips wasn’t still sidelined due to injury, then Klich would