Illan Meslier was the centre of attention for Sky’s cameras on Friday night as Leeds United failed to hold on to a 2-1 win over Sunderland, the Frenchman throwing the ball into the net.
Leeds had gone 1-0 down early on to Regis Le Bris’ in-form side, scoring through teenage midfielder Chris Rigg. But Wilfried Gnonto is arguably the best player in the Championship at this moment in time.
His gorgeous cross for Joel Piroe made it 1-1, a similar goal that saw Gnonto cross for Piroe to score in the second leg of the Championship play-off semi-finals against Norwich at Elland Road last season.
Then, Gnonto’s decision-making and clever one-two with Junior Firpo saw Leeds made it 2-1 on the night. A goal that looked like it would be enough to see Leeds beat the Championship’s front runners away.
But Alan Browne’s knock forward, which was never meant as a shot, span off the surface and Meslier was none the wiser. An equaliser on 97 minutes, but Meslier was seen laughing and joking after the match.
Jon Newsome infuriated by Illan Meslier’s lack of professionalism
Despite his enormous mistake and the ramifications of that, which meant Leeds had dropped two points in a moment, Meslier was seen laughing and joking after the match with his old Lorient manager Le Bris.
Speaking on BBC Radio Leeds, former Leeds player Newsome said he could not understand why Meslier was not considering he had just conceded a huge mistake, instead laughing as if it had not happened.
“I do agree that you can’t be stood out there, laughing and joking with the other team’s manager. You’ve got to show some humility and awareness of the situation. Have to be a bit more professional than that.
“If I’d have seen him laughing and joking, I think I would have had a few words to say to him. If I’d have played for 96 minutes, I would have had something to say to him in the dressing room,” Newsome said.
Meslier howler, but Leeds fans must remember form this season
There has been constant criticism of Meslier since he joined the club as an unknown teenage talent from Lorient way back in the summer of 2019. Meslier initially joined on loan, acting as Kiko Casilla’s back-up.
Since then, Meslier has broken records. He broke Joe Hart’s record of clean sheets before the age of 21, and the youngest goalkeeper to reach 100 Premier League outings. He stayed at Leeds after the drop.
Meslier could have left, but he didn’t. Last season, he won the Championship’s golden glove and this term, he has five clean sheets in nine league games. He is a top, top goalkeeper of Premier League level.
The grass is not always greener and while there is frustration with Meslier, including Joe Rodon getting annoyed with Meslier’s passing over the last year, he is rightly first choice and fans must respect that.
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