Rob Green has told Monday Night Football, which was broadcast on Sky Sports, that he noticed Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier moving around a lot on his line before Jesse Lingard struck his penalty for West Ham yesterday.
With VAR in place, goalkeepers are at a huge disadvantage on penalties, as any movement off their line is penalised.
However, Meslier seemed unperturbed by the ruling and Green commented on how he found the Leeds goalkeeper’s technique intriguing.
“It was interesting with Meslier that actually he chose to move around a lot, and he was in danger of losing control of being on the line. He did well to stay on it, trying to put off Lingard in the process,” he said.
“It’s a good save from Meslier. He used the one step, one foot off the line and used it to good effect.”
Meslier distraction tactics worked as he actually saved Lingard’s penalty, but he was unable to keep out the rebound.
The Leeds stopper just couldn’t divert the West Ham man’s shot round the post, which meant that Lingard was presented with a simple tap-in.
That goal gave West Ham the lead and, after Craig Dawson scored from a corner, the game was taken away from Leeds.
The Whites did push hard to find a route back into the match, but their finishing was wasteful and they fell to a 2-0 defeat.
The result means that West Ham have pushed up into fifth place in the Premier League table, while Leeds remain in 11th.
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