Michael Gray slams Leeds United star Illan Meslier for ‘bizarre’ moment v Blackburn Rovers
Michael Gray has slammed Leeds United keeper Illan Meslier for a “bizarre” mistake in the first half of the Whites’ clash with Blackburn Rovers on Saturday 9 December.
Daniel Farke’s side headed into the break 1-0 up at Ewood Park thanks to an excellent right-footed strike from Dan James midway through the half but had to withstand a period of early pressure from the home side to keep things level.
One moment of confusion came as a long ball over the top of the Whites’ backline saw Melsier come to collect, but the Frenchman attempted to pick the ball up outside the penalty area, leading to plenty of criticism from talkSPORT pundit Gray.
Speaking on talkSPORT 2 (9 December, 12:52) he said: “It was very bizarre there wasn’t it from Illan Meslier, it was as if he didn’t realise he was outside his own 18-yard box.
“He went down to pick the ball up and then realised he was outside of his box and he couldn’t do that and had to touch it with his feet to get it back inside his 18-yard area.
“That’s what he does, he’s got a mistake in him. We saw that so many times in the Premier League last season and you just hope that he learns from it.”
Too many mistakes
As Gray suggested, these sorts of bizarre moments are nothing new from Meslier as Leeds United supporters have almost come to expect moments of madness from the Frenchman between the posts.
The moment in the first half of Saturday was nothing short of ridiculous as the 23-year-old seemed to have absolutely no idea of where he was on the playing field as he bent over to pick up the ball before quickly moving it back into the box.
If the Whites have genuine ambitions of winning automatic promotion this season, they have to cut out these stupid errors as they have been very fortunate both at Ewood Park and throughout this season that their attacking talent has got them out of trouble.
Goalkeepers set the tone for the rest of the side and while Leeds got through the first half unpunished, Farke will want to see better displays from his number one in the future. You’d have to imagine Karl Darlow will be hopeful of returning to the starting XI after a shaky few weeks for Meslier.
In other Leeds United news, Kieron Dyer has labelled the Whites as a “juggernaut” in the race for promotion