Junior Firpo shares first message since contentious Leeds United flashpoint v Sunderland

Junior Firpo shares first message since contentious Leeds United flashpoint v Sunderland

When Illan Meslier fumbled in a horrid equaliser for Sunderland as Leeds United looked to see out a win on Friday, Junior Firpo’s reaction sparked a lot of discussion online as he stormed off at the full-time whistle.

Daniel Farke comes into this international break still wondering how his coaching display and Leeds’ overall performance away at Sunderland didn’t yield a win.

Having gone 2-1 up and been largely in control of the match after opening exchanges, the Whites succumbed to an equaliser late on in comical circumstances as Illan Meslier failed to collect a routine ball dropping in the box.

Illan Meslier mistake prompts Junior Firpo to storm off at full-time

The 96th minute had elapsed when the ball floated into Meslier’s box and bounced into the goal, with only six added on.

As Leeds were forced to settle for a point away at the table-toppers, Junior Firpo’s post-match reaction caught the view of the Sky Sports cameras, as he stormed down the tunnel immediately:

Meslier was consoled by his teammates as Sunderland celebrated, but fan fury watching on wasn’t helped when he shared a light-hearted, possibly-embarrassed discussion with Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris, his ex-Lorient youth coach.

Junior Firpo shares new focus after Leeds’ 2-2 misery

Now, the left-back, fresh from scoring his first goal since Javi Gracia’s first game in charge for Leeds, is due for international duty with the Dominican Republic.

Up next in the CONCACAF Nations League for Firpo and his nation is an interesting double-header against Antigua and Barbuda – they sit top after two games and two wins, hoping for another six points.

Firpo posted this on Instagram ahead of a busy international duty:

Leeds squad needs week off to settle after Meslier horror moment

An international break probably comes at a perfect time for Leeds for a number of reasons.

Firstly, we have a few injury problems that could be resolved by the time we take on Sheffield United in just under two weeks’ time.

The second issue is that this Sunderland result is a blow for the mindset of the club in the short term, and if we had another game coming up soon, we might not be in the best frame of mind.