Nick Pope's role in Leeds United's opening goal during the draw with Newcastle United has been questioned by Ian Wright. The Match of the Day panel focused on Sam Allardyce's side in the aftermath of the incident-packed 2-2 draw at Elland Road on Saturday.
Luke Ayling fired the hosts in front after only seven minutes, and Pope prevented the visitors conceding another shortly after producing a fine stop to deny Patrick Bamford's penalty. Callum Wilson's brace from the spot looked to have the visitors on course for a vital win, only for a deflected strike from Rasmus Kristensen to ensure the points were shared.
The result means Newcastle's top-four destiny remains in their own hands, although Liverpool could close the gap to one point with victory over Leicester City on Monday night. Wright was joined by his son Shaun Wright-Phillips on Saturday's edition of the Premier League highlights show, and the Arsenal legend was full of praise for Sam Allardyce's gameplan.
READ MORE: Newcastle boss Eddie Howe's pitch invader quip should concern Leeds after foul-mouthed insult
Wright said: "It was working. They were very intense, they really went at Newcastle, closed them down, went direct, and it was working.
"The closing down...the work they must have put in this week is probably why Allardyce was probably thinking we should have got three points out of this game."
The analysis moved on to Ayling's opener, which saw the full-back capitalise on a rebound from Rodrigo's header. Pope got down well to stop the initial effort, but Wright feels the Newcastle goalkeeper should have pushed the ball 'away' rather than allowing it to drop in the six-yard box.
However, Pope undoubtedly redeemed himself with a fine penalty save just before the half-hour mark, diving to his right to push Bamford's effort clear. Minutes later, Wilson pulled Newcastle level at the other end after Alexander Isak was brought down by Max Wober, and Wright-Phillips admits there was nothing Allardyce could have done with the 'mistakes' made for both penalty awards.
The former Manchester City winger said: "There's not much a manager can do from that point on the pitch with the mistakes that were made today. I was actually surprised by some of them, like here [Newcastle's equaliser] Firpo falls over and this tackle from Wober. I was like, 'what were you thinking?' Slow down, stay on your feet, and it kind of all went downhill a little bit from then."
Wright-Phillips then went on to express his surprise at Newcastle's second penalty, which was awarded after a VAR review for Junior Firpo's handball. The full-back's arm was extended above his head, and Wright could not understand the defender's thought process.
The pundit added: "When you look at this one, look how high this man's hand is. Surely at some stage, you have to be thinking my hand, I've got to move my hand from being this high."
READ NEXT
- Newcastle staff step in after angry confrontation and bench fury at ugly Leeds United - 5 things
- Tindall fever hits Elland Road, Howe tinkers and Leeds become the time-wasters in Newcastle draw
- Jacob Murphy's Leeds absence explained as Newcastle United call up 17-year-old for crunch clash
- Newcastle United notes: The magic tally needed to clinch Champions League place and bookies verdict
- Baffling penalty decision sees Newcastle denied third Elland Road spot-kick as Sam Allardyce moans
