Moments of champions: Pascal Struijk’s big sexy clearance

Pascal Struijk tried to achieve the impossible for Leeds United in 2024/25. And he got pretty close.

Most fans had resigned themselves to the fate of supporting a club that was never going to threaten from set-pieces ever again. If even Sam Allardyce couldn’t help Leeds score from a corner — *shudders* — then who could?

Step forward the Big Sexy Pirate, wearing the captain’s armband in the absence of Ethan Ampadu, slamming in Joe Rothwell’s definitely not scuffed corner towards the near post against Sheffield United at Elland Road in October. We don’t need Opta to remind us that it was Leeds’ first goal from a corner since Matt Heath’s header at Burnley in 2007. Indeed, it was so hard to believe that it made Leeds believe in a higher power. Ao Tanaka sank to his knees gazing at the heavens and Daniel Farke expressed his gratitude to the divine: “Thank God Pascal Struijk is back.”

Scoring from a corner is one thing, trying to save Illan Meslier from himself was an even more almighty challenge. For much of the season, Struijk was part of a defence that did a fine job. Leeds faced fewer shots on target in 24/25 than any other Championship club, including the pathetically stingy Burnley.

While his late-season injury meant Ampadu and Joe Rodon stole much of the defensive limelight as the title was secured, Struijk was quietly excellent for so much of the campaign. In the debates over Daniel Farke’s patient style of football, it was often overlooked that off the ball Leeds shared a similar trait to something Marcelo Bielsa drilled into his players: if the opposition had possession, United wanted it back as quickly as possible and weren’t going to let the other team get out of their own half, thanks in no small part to Struijk’s classy reading of the game and his underrated physicality.

But a goalkeeper can’t be protected forever, and we all know what happened against Sunderland, Hull, and Swansea. I’m referring to the Swansea home game, there, although the helter-skelter 4-3 win in South Wales wasn’t exactly comfortable viewing for Meslier either.

Three days later, Leeds were back at Elland Road, Luton were the visitors, and the subsequent 3-0 victory is best remembered as a typically comfortable three points against Champo fodder and Sam Byram scoring a flipping bicycle kick. Except not long after Byram’s opener, Leeds’ evening could have been made much more difficult as Victor Moses was put through on goal and — as I wrote in the match report at the time:

Illan Meslier’s approach to smothering the chance resembled a dog slowly dragging its arse along a carpet.

Moses chipped the ball over the shrinking Meslier and towards the goal, and we return to the match report:

Still, it was worth it if only to see Struijk wipe the skidmark from the clean sheet with an overhead kick.

What a goal line clearance this is from Pascal Struijk! 🤯👏
pic.twitter.com/1ltmj4P68v

— Second Tier podcast (@secondtierpod) November 28, 2024

Could any other Leeds defender make a goalline clearance so gracefully? Pascal Struijk is a handsome man, as we found out against Sunderland later in the season, he does handsome things.

After the match, Farke described Struijk’s intervention as a “crucial save”. Replays suggested the ball might have been going wide anyway, but neither Struijk nor the Elland Road crowd knew that at the time, so why take the risk when you can do something brilliant instead? As we’ve learned all too well over the years, it’s much better when Leeds United don’t fuck about and find out. ⬢

(Photograph by Every Second Media, via Alamy)

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