Heartbreak for Meslier as Last-Minute Howler Costs Leeds Victory

Leeds United’s head coach, Daniel Farke, revealed that goalkeeper Illan Meslier was “in tears” following a costly mistake that denied his team a crucial victory against Sunderland. In a dramatic finish on Friday night, Meslier allowed a seemingly innocuous ball from Alan Browne to slip past him in the 97th minute, resulting in a 2-2 draw.

The error was particularly painful as a win would have seen Leeds draw level on points with Sunderland at the top of the Championship. Instead, they remain three points behind in third place, leaving the team heartbroken.

“After such a situation, you don’t need to talk to Illan; he is the saddest person in the dressing room,” Farke shared. “He’s more or less in tears.”

Reflecting on the incident, Farke admitted he had never witnessed anything like it in his 30 years in football. He speculated that captain Pascal Struijk may have seen the ball bounce awkwardly in front of Meslier, leading to the critical blunder.

While he couldn’t confirm if a divot caused the mishap, Farke noted, “Pascal said he had never seen anything like this. He felt it bounced and jumped in the other direction because there was a mark on the pitch. If that’s the case, it was unbelievably unlucky.”

Farke expressed deep disappointment over the lost points, describing the situation as “heartbreaking” and “horrendous” for his squad, who had put in an impressive performance throughout the match.

After the game, Sunderland head coach Régis Le Bris, who once coached Meslier at the Lorient academy in France, offered his sympathy. “I’m disappointed for him because I like this boy, and anyone can make a mistake,” Le Bris said. “For a goalkeeper, when you make a mistake, the consequences are very important. It happened today, and we are happy for the final result.”

As Meslier grapples with the fallout from this heartbreaking moment, Leeds will need to regroup quickly as they push to reclaim their position in the Championship.