I watched unprofessional Illan Meslier display vs Hull City and questions needs to be asked at Leeds United

Former Leeds United defender Jon Newsome insists ‘questions need to be asked’ of Illan Meslier following his ‘unprofessional’ display at Hull City on Saturday.

Meslier endured a miserable day at the MKM Stadium as Leeds threw away a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 against Championship strugglers Hull. The 24-year-old was arguably at fault for all three goals, rushing out of position for Abu Kamara’s earlier opener before twice flapping at relatively harmless situations.

Hull’s second goal in particular did not reflect well on Meslier, who opted to try and claim a looping header which looked to be bouncing off the top of the crossbar before fumbling it at the feet of Joao Pedro. And Newsome highlighted that particular error when reflecting on the disappointing result.

“I think it’s unprofessional,” he told BBC Radio Leeds. “Everybody makes mistakes, we get that. We talk about the one at Sunderland, I thought he was unfortunate. You can pick pieces out of it, but he was a little bit unfortunate there. But you look at the one today, especially, I really don’t know what’s going through his mind. I think it’s unprofessional.

“Is it a little bit of arrogance that I can do what I want to do, rather than be playing the game in the way the game should be played. The third goal is very similar. Questions need to be asked about that as well. You concede three goals today and the goalkeeper has played a major, huge part in all three of them. When you are 3-1 up with ten minutes to go, you don’t overplay, you don’t take chances, you see it off, you get it over the line.”

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Meslier not the only one to blame

While his mistakes will be the focus of debate following Saturday’s dropped points, Meslier was not the only Leeds player to have a bad day at the office. The French goalkeeper was caught rushing off his line for Kamara’s opener but the Hull man was given a free run on goal inside five minutes, having run off the slow-to-react Max Wober.

Similarly, Hull had other opportunities to score in moments where Leeds were defensively sloppy, while Farke’s side could easily have taken the game beyond reach. Joel Piroe, Brenden Aaronson and Dan James were all guilty of poor finishes, the latter wasting a gilt-edged chance when the game was at 3-2.

“Disappointed is probably the right word,” Leeds boss Farke said of the draw. “First half we were not sharp enough. If we allow ourselves to be two per cent less on it then it's difficult in this league to win points. In both boxes it was the case. We didn't finish off good situations. Our finishing was not spot on and I don't think we've conceded a cheaper goal the whole season than when we conceded. They could have scored a second.

“Second half I have to say great reaction and we executed in a perfect manner what we spoke about at half-time. We could have scored four, five or six - Daniel James one against one to bury the game completely. It's difficult to explain how we conceded two late goals without them really having a chance. Somehow they were able to score out of situations when you can normally never score. If you concede three it's difficult to win the games. Created so many chances, scored three, to drive away with just one point is heartbreaking and disappointing. That's the overwhelming feeling at the moment.”