'Absolute shocker': Leeds United's Illan Meslier howler leads to social media ridicule

When goalkeepers make a mistake in a football game, there's no hiding place for them as they're the very last line of defence.

Leeds United's Illan Meslier was the latest to have to endure this after making what's been described by some as "one of the worst goalkeeping errors of all time" in his side's 2-2 draw at Championship table-toppers Sunderland on Friday (October 4) night.

Chris Rigg gave the home side the lead inside the opening 10 minutes but Leeds equalised midway through the first half through a Joel Piroe header before Junior Fipro gave the visitors the lead early in the second.

Leeds looked to have held on to all three points until Meslier made a pretty seismic error he'll want to forget in a hurry.

Sunderland's Alan Browne caught the ball from a free-kick in the final minute of the match which nicked slightly off Fipro and looked to be harmlessly looping towards the clutches of Meslier.

But the ball bounced in front of him and it either spun away from him or he simply got it all wrong, completely missing the ball as it rolled into the net behind him.

Meslier looked perplexed as he blamed the pitch in front of him at first but social media has been quick to criticise the French goalkeeper; others have come to his defence.

The Football Away Days account described it as "one of the worst goalkeeping errors of all time" and "an absolute shocker".

The Second Tier Podcast called it "one of the most bizarre mistakes you'll ever see".

Out of Context Football Manager said: "If my goalkeeper did this in Football Manager, he would be in the U18s and on the transfer list before the final whistle had gone."

A Newcastle United fan joked: "He's had a cheeky bet on over 3.5 goals there like."

Non-league Brandon United even poked fun at Meslier.

One said: "What in the name of Robert Green, Scott Carson & Loris Karius was that?!"

Another said: "Of course it was Meslier."

Others leapt to Meslier's defence though, saying the ball spun and bounced off a divot on the pitch.

And another said they "wouldn't stress on it too much if I was him" before blasting the officials.

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.