Leeds United’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester City on Saturday was a bitter pill to swallow, and goalkeeper Lucas Perri was in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Former Tottenham defender Michael Dawson was scathing in his assessment of Perri’s performance, particularly on the goal that sealed the win for City.
“It was terrible goalkeeping,” Dawson said. “Perri had a chance to punch the ball clear, but he knocked it down and it got tapped in. As a goalkeeper, you’ve got to clear everything out of your goal. He made a mess of it, and it cost Leeds.”
Perri’s mistake was a costly one, and it overshadowed an otherwise solid performance. He made several key saves throughout the game, including a number of impressive stops against Erling Haaland. However, one moment of hesitation proved decisive.
Despite the criticism, Perri’s stats from the game were impressive. He won a match rating of 7.4 from Sofascore, the highest of his season, and made six saves, including five inside the box. He also successfully ran out two opponents and had more touches than in any other game.
However, as Dawson pointed out, stats can’t tell the whole story. One mistake can change the course of a game, and it’s clear that Perri’s error had a significant impact on the outcome. Leeds’s manager, Daniel Farke, will be hoping that his goalkeeper can bounce back from this setback and regain his confidence. The Whites are now in the relegation zone, and they’ll need all the heroics they can get from Perri and the rest of the team if they’re going to stay up.