Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Mark Flekken has tried to explain his moment of madness against Newcastle United and accused Nick Woltemade of winning a penalty “cleverly”.
BILD have comments from the Leverkusen goalkeeper today. He’s been facing criticism this week after a moment of madness cost his side in the 2-2 draw with Newcastle in the Champions League.
Flekken gave away a penalty in the game when he tried to dribble on the ball in his own box when being pressured by Woltemade. He ended up getting himself into a mess and ultimately fouling the Newcastle striker for the penalty when attempting a sliding challenge.
Antony Gordon subsequently levelled the scores from the spot to further punish Flekken’s mistake. The German side needed a late leveller in the game to claim a point after the penalty handed momentum to Newcastle.
It was an uncomfortable moment for Flekken, to say the least. He was pictured hiding his face in his shirt and was clearly frustrated by the incident during the match.
Now he’s tried to explain what happened. And while he accepts blame, he thinks Woltemade has somewhat conned the officials as well.
Mea Culpa for Newcastle United penalty
“Clear penalty, clear mistake, it’s my fault,” he said.
“Against teams like that, you have to survive the first 10 or 15 minutes of the second half. Giving away such a gift at the start of the second half, it would be wrong not to be annoyed.
“You always try to have an exit strategy. Unfortunately, I didn’t have one in this case. If I could have cleared it out of play, I would have. I laid the ball off to my left. As a result, I lost control. And then what happened, happened.
“I could have played it into midfield, but then I would have created a problem for another player. It’s a well-known story: If you make a mistake as a goalkeeper, unfortunately, it goes badly 19 times out of 20.
“(I) tried to stay beside him (Woltemade). He then cleverly stuck his foot out. I touched him.
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t change the story anymore. I’m just very happy that we showed such character in the end. The fact that the lads could only reward themselves with a point for their performance is what hurts me the most.”
