Key Leeds United and Watford men endured contrasting evenings at Elland Road - it settled the result | OneFootball

The two goalkeepers had very different performances on Tuesday night

It was a tale of two goalkeepers on Tuesday night at Elland Road, as Leeds United ended up 2-1 victors over Watford.

The Yorkshire side were two goals to the good within the opening seven minutes in front of their own fans, with Largie Ramazani grabbing his third goal for the club four minutes in, before Brenden Aaronson doubled the advantage three minutes later.

The hosts were given a helping hand by Daniel Bachmann in the Hornets’ net for the opener, with the Austrian letting Ramazani’s shot from the edge of the box slip through his fingers, before trying in vain to stop the ball crossing the line. He then spilled a Willy Gnonto cross into Aaronson's path for 2-0 within the blink of an eye.

Kwadwo Baah halved the deficit for the visitors just after the break, before Illan Meslier proved impenetrable for the rest of the game to keep his side’s lead intact, his best save coming from a Tom Ince free-kick which he clawed away at his near-post.

Daniel Bachmann horror show gifts Leeds United victory at Elland Road

Bachmann won’t want to watch the opening ten minutes in LS11 back anytime soon, with his handling called into question after fumbling an effort within 240 seconds of kick-off in Yorkshire.

The shot-stopper had returned to action for the 3-0 defeat to rivals Luton Town at the weekend, having been out of action since being forced off after just 13 minutes in the clash with Norwich City last month.

Jonathan Bond filled in during his absence, and Tom Cleverley must have wished he had kept faith with the backup glovesman on Tuesday night, with the underlying numbers doing nothing for the returning man between the sticks.

Despite Leeds dominating the xG battle, the xGOT - which deciphers the chances of a shot going in once it has left the players' boot - was only 0.96 according to FotMob, which only further highlights the ease with which he let the ball cross the line. Ramazani's goal came from an xG of only 0.02.

Even for the second, the 30-year-old will have thought he could have done better, as he parried a cross straight into the path of Aaronson, who made no mistake to give his side an early cushion.

A save from Piroe in the second stanza helped to keep his side stay in the game towards the end, as did other stops from Willy Gnonto, Manor Solomon, Dan James and Mateo Joseph, but with the opening goal gifted to Leeds on a plate, Bachmann will be disappointed with his efforts during the midweek encounter.

Illan Meslier restores Leeds United faith after Watford display

There had been doubts rising about Meslier’s performances of late, with a high-profile blunder in the 2-2 draw with Sunderland before the international break adding to his woes.

But the Frenchman was back to his resolute best when called into action against the Hornets, with an eye-catching save to deny Giorgi Chakvetadze in the first-half the pick of the bunch.

The 24-year-old may have felt he could have dealt with Baah’s initial centre better before the ball fell back to the feet of the forward for the visitors' goal, with Meslier already on the floor as the Watford man side-footed into an unguarded net.

But overall, the United shot-stopper had to deal with a higher calibre of shot than his adversary down the other end, with an xGOT figure of 1.44 proving as much.

While the defence in front of him thwarted much of what the visitors threw at them, Meslier proved he was able to be called upon when needed once again in midweek, as Daniel Farke’s side continued their impressive start to the season.