George Overhill

Sun 23 January 2022 15:32, UK

Illan Meslier showed “chocolate wrists” when he let in Jonjo Shelvey’s free kick in Newcastle’s victory over Leeds United, according to Perry Groves.

The Whites went down to a surprise 1-0 defeat after the French keeper let the shot through his hands in the second half, prompting the pundit to use the dismissive term.

The goal ended up being the margin of victory in a hard-fought match that could prove crucial at the bottom of the table.

Speaking on talkSPORT from Elland Road former Arsenal man Groves said: “You have to say Newcastle showed real resilience and fight. They were under the cosh in the opening 25 minutes as Leeds put them under pressure, but they stayed strong.”

Big blow

After back-to-back wins United were looking to continue their climb away from the Premier League relegation zone, with a positive mood beginning to grow around the club.

A number of players were beginning to come back into the squad following injury lay-offs and Marcelo Biesla would have been hoping that it would be a platform for the second half of the season.

But events have taken a negative turn in the past few days as key striker Patrick Bamford suffered yet another injury just as he was approaching a return to the team (Sky Sports), then the damaging defeat on Saturday.

Another win would have seen the team climb further towards mid-table but instead they remain stuck in 15th, while a first win in six weeks for the visitors will give them confidence, which itself could be a threat to Leeds.

Meslier has been a key performer in the Whites goal but his error came at a key moment.

Even the goalscorer did not expect his relatively tame, low effort to go in, telling NUFC TV that Meslier had “chucked one in”, and while the Magpies were happy to take advantage, Leeds will have to hope their keeper can block it out quickly and move on.

In other Leeds United news, a former referee was damning in his criticism of the officials for one event in the Newcastle clash.