Jermaine Beckford, a former Leeds United striker, has come to the defense of Illan Meslier following his costly mistake in the 2-2 draw against Sunderland. Meslier, who had put in one of his best performances of the season, made a shocking error by letting a weak bouncing ball slip past him and into the net in the 97th minute.
Despite Leeds being ahead 2-1 thanks to goals from Junior Firpo, Meslier’s mistake allowed Sunderland to equalize and snatch a point. Meslier, who was reportedly devastated in the dressing room after the match, will likely face criticism in the coming weeks leading up to their next game against Sheffield United.
Beckford, however, has faith in Meslier’s abilities and believes he will ultimately earn more points for Leeds than he will cost them. He took to Twitter to express his support for the goalkeeper in the wake of the error, stating that Meslier will bounce back and make crucial saves for the team.
While Meslier’s recent performance statistics might suggest otherwise, Beckford and Leeds manager Daniel Farke remain confident in the young goalkeeper’s abilities. Meslier will need to work on improving his goals prevented stat in order to silence his critics and prove his worth to the team.
