Sunderland defender Jenson Seelt says he was ‘already celebrating’ when Leeds United’s Illan Meslier pulled off an ‘unbelievable’ save to deny him his first ever goal.
The Black Cats ran out 1-0 winners over Leeds on Tuesday night thanks to Jobe Bellingham’s late goal, but the game could’ve gone a whole lot differently had Seelt’s header found the top corner.
Meslier was able to launch himself across his line and claw the ball out from underneath the cross-bar, with Sky Sports pundit Kevin Phillips hailing it as a ‘world class’ save.
And now speaking to Chronicle Live after the game, Seelt has praised Meslier for preventing him from opening the scoring with a save that left him blown away.
“It was so close. I was already celebrating but it was an unbelievable save from the goalie. I think we were really a threat from set-pieces, so if we just go on like that we can score more.”
Meslier save was a moment of class
Leeds defended 13 Blackburn Rovers corners with ease on Saturday but were back to their former ways of looking like they could concede with every set-piece at the Stadium of Light.
Thankfully Meslier was on hand at that moment to keep Leeds on level terms, though it did not mean much in the grand scheme of the result.
On the other hand, If ever a match could sum up Meslier perfectly over the last few months, it is tonight, as he is always capable of pulling off a save such as that one, like at Leicester City.
His lack of command in the area was a contributing factor to Bellingham’s goal in the second half, as he was rooted to his line, allowing him to head home from very close-range.
If he had more confidence to deal with the danger, he would become a really well-rounded ‘keeper, and perhaps Leeds would’ve left with a point rather than nothing.
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