Neil Maddison criticised Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier for failing to keep out the early goal scored by Emmanuel Latte Lath for Middlesbrough.
Latte Lath blasted past Meslier inside the opening three minutes of the Championship clash at Elland Road on Saturday (2 December).
The 23-year-old seemed to be blindsided by the movement of another player as he tried and failed to keep out the powerful drive.
Covering the game for BBC Radio Tees [2 December, 15:06], former Middlesbrough midfielder Maddison commented: “I’ve got to say, he’s got to do better.”
Mixed half
It did look as though Meslier was caught cold on initial viewing, but replays show that Matt Crooks perhaps distracted the Leeds stopper.
Still, Meslier was fuming at himself – or perhaps a team-mate for not getting to Latte Lath quicker – in what was an early setback for Leeds.
However, the former France Under-21s international did make amends of sorts by making a couple of saves later in the half.
And the early setback did not faze Daniel Farke’s men too much – the opposite, in fact, as they hit back with two goals of their own in the following four minutes.
Daniel James got Leeds back on level terms, before Crysencio Summerville headed in almost immediately after to send the home fans wild.
Middlesbrough had their moments, but Joel Piroe’s penalty extended the Whites’ advantage, only for Latte Lath to pull back another before half-time.
It may not have been the brightest of starts for Leeds, or indeed Meslier, but full credit for the way they managed to recover.
In other Leeds United news, a previously “unthinkable” development is now a possibility at Elland Road.
