Alan Pardew has issued advice to Leeds United boss Daniel Farke in the wake of what happened in the final minute of their encounter with Sunderland on Friday (4 October).
Leeds were seconds away from a big three points away to Sunderland, thanks to goals from Junior Firpo and Joel Piroe, when a loose ball seemingly bouncing directly into the hands of Illan Meslier somehow made it past the keeper and into the back of the net.
Very few Leeds players were seen consoling Meslier after his error, with Firpo evidently frustrated and storming straight down the tunnel.
Pardew said: “As a manager I can’t imagine… he must have looked at that ball and thought ‘thank God for that’.
“You’re not going to point the finger – he’s feeling bad enough about it already. But you have to talk about it.
“The team will want you to talk about it, so you frame it as ‘we should have won, it’s a mistake at the end, don’t worry about it’.
“It’s an elephant in the room so of course you talk about it. Even silly sendings off, you address it in a similar way – you deal with it separately.
“As a player, you have more downs than ups and you have to bounce back from it.”
Plenty of time to bounce back for Leeds United
Had Meslier caught the ball, Leeds would be sitting just one point from the top of the table heading into the international break – that’s how tight the margins are at the moment.
However, a point away to Sunderland all in all is still a good result given the Black Cats had previously won their previous four at home, conceding none.
Farke came in for his fair share of criticism last season but appears to have gotten his side back to their best so far this campaign and will no doubt lead Leeds up the table after the international break
However, in such big games, one moment can sway a result as it did. It’s important for focus levels to be maintained to the final whistle which unfortunately on this occasion, they weren’t.
There is no doubt that Meslier is a top-end goalkeeper at this level and even at the level above. However, mistakes like this need to be forgotten and consolation from those around you is a key factor behind that
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