Leed United's 17-match unbeaten run in the Championship came to an end after Colby Bishop scored to earn Portsmouth a 1-0 victory at a rampant Fratton Park.
It was the first time Daniel Farke's side tasted defeat since early November when they also succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to Millwall.
On this occasion, Bishop's dinked effort over Meslier (61) after running onto a Connor Ogilvie ball into the channel, was enough to provide a bump in the road to Leeds' promotion hopes. The narrow margin meant the league leaders pushed hard for an equaliser but an inspired Nicolas Schmid was on hand to deny the Whites.
Defeat means Leeds have been denied the chance to re-establish a five-point buffer within the automatic promotion places and they stay level on points with second-place Sheffield United who edged Preston on Saturday.
On a sunny afternoon at Fratton Park, the entertaining Championship clash wasn't without controversy as Leeds were denied an early penalty. Sky Sports' Lee Hendrie called it a "stonewall penalty", when Matt Ritchie swung his leg at Daniel James, catching the Leeds man without getting a touch on the ball. Referee Rob Jones appeared to gesture that Ritchie won the ball and play continued.
Former Leeds boss Neil Warnock agreed with Hendrie at halftime, suggesting an "obvious" penalty call had been missed by Jones, suggesting that had the challenge on James been made in the Premier League it would have been given with the "help" of VAR.
Leeds, who enjoyed dominant periods in the first half, came close to a breakthrough only to be thwarted by Schmid who began an impressive display with a superb double save to keep out both James and Joel Piroe. The latter will be kept awake by the fact he didn't score as after the break, he was tasked with finishing off a sweeping Leeds counter but skied the opportunity from close range.
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Pompey responded, buoyed by a continuous raucous atmosphere, now attacking the Fratton End. Bishop found the net as his side gained the ascendancy and having just missed a chance just moments before, he made no mistake on this occasion scoring his sixth of the season.
It was then kitchen sink time for Leeds with Farke making a triple change to see Largie Ramazani, Mateo Joseph and Joe Rothwell introduced. Ramazani nearly set up what he thought would be an equaliser when his work opened up an opportunity for Junior Firpo one-on-one but once again, Schmid came out on top.
Firpo tried again from distance minutes later but watched his effort crash off the bar and a follow-up from James was headed wide.
Schmid's afternoon of heroics didn't end there as when called upon in the dying seconds, a firm hand kept out a bullet Sam Byram header from a corner. As Leeds' cushion at the summit was squeezed, John Mousinho's side gained a vital three points to help steer clear of the drop zone.
The Managers
Portsmouth's John Mousinho:
"I was really impressed with the performance, particularly how we came out after half-time. We put them under tremendous pressure for 15-20 minutes up until the goal, naturally after that we sat off a bit but fully deserved on effort, work-rate and application. So really pleased with the result and performance.
"We earned the right to be in the game until half-time by sitting in and working hard. We then made a couple of adjustments, asking the players to go a few yards higher. And to be honest the lads executed it brilliantly."
Leeds' Daniel Farke:
"Congratulations to Portsmouth. It was an important win for them. We are disappointed we have lost. We knew it would be a tough game. We knew no team had won more points at home this year than Portsmouth. It was as we expected.
"We had one-on-ones with the keeper, missed chances, hit the bar - you have to take your chances. In terms of expected goals we were by far the better side.
"We allowed Bishop to run into the channel. it was a very easy goal. Perhaps not as easy as our chances, but he scored his. They were more effective and we have to congratulate them."
On the penalty claim:
"It was a penalty. It was a key moment and a clear penalty, on a day like this when we miss so many chances maybe we'd have missed the penalty.
"Sometimes you have a day when everything comes together, on others not. We have to accept it. It was not our day. We had enough chances to win the game."
