Iliman Meslier told Regis Le Bris the ball changed direction leading to the Sunderland equaliser in the 2-2 draw with Leeds United.
The Frenchman produced an all-time howler at the Stadium of Light on Friday [4 October] as he misjudged a deflected ball off Junior Firpo as the hosts rescued a point seven minutes into stoppage time.
BBC correspondent Adam Pope revealed on his X account [4 October] what Meslier said to Sunderland’s manager following his costly blunder.
He composed the following sentence: “Le Bris says Meslier told him ‘ball changed direction when it hit the ground’.
Illan Meslier makes a costly error for Leeds United.
Meslier will be one of the most despised individuals in West Yorkshire because of his error, which cost Daniel Farke three crucial Championship points.
The 24-year-old attempted to get into the heads of the Sunderland fans as the goalkeeper used time-wasting tactics in the dying minutes of the game, but unfortunately for Leeds, the home crowd had the last laugh.
It was a mistake that even Sunday league goalkeepers would not make. All of his comrades’ hard work to secure what was supposed to be a historic result for the squad was undone in one split-second error of judgement.
Joel Piroe and Firpo completed the turnaround with goals in both halves after Chris Rigg opened the scoring for Sunderland on nine minutes. After the final whistle, the players expressed their feelings towards the goalkeeper, since the post-match scenes painted an unflattering picture of Leeds.
Meslier will have to accept it and move forward. The goalkeeper’s only opportunity to atone for his error is to perform to his full potential in the following weeks.
He does not want this error to be a talking point at the end of the season as to why Leeds failed to gain Premier League promotion.
