Regis Le Bris remains a very good mentor to Illan Meslier after coaching the Leeds goalkeeper at Lorient's academy in his hometown of Brittany, but on the eve of kick-off here, the Sunderland manager said: , once said he wanted to see his former pupil pick a ball that went out of the net.
Meslier did it twice, but the second time it was a disastrous result, with Le Bris scoring after a mistake in stoppage time to keep Sunderland at the top of the Championship and their unbeaten home record.
In the 97th minute, Jobe Bellingham headed a free kick and substitute Alan Brown chipped the ball well into the box. Collections are rarely routine for goalkeepers, but for some reason Meslier was fooled by the ball's seemingly benign bounce and allowed the ball to bypass his hands and right foot on its way to the back of the goal.
In fact, that equalizing goal was recorded as an own goal by Junior Firpo, but Meslier, who had suffered a severe blow to the head moments before, was not able to stop such a seemingly innocuous mistake. No one will blame you.
Leeds manager Daniel Farke said: “I've been working in professional football for 30 years and I've never seen anything like it.” “Normally in a situation like that the goalkeeper takes the ball, clears it and the final whistle blows. There's no need to say anything to Iran now, we'll wait until things calm down. It's a terrible punch.”
Like his Leeds counterpart, Le Bris made sure to hug a depressed Meslier the moment the final whistle blew. “Football is unpredictable and you can't anticipate mistakes like that, but we pushed until the end and deserved a draw,” the Sunderland manager said. The team varied in formation as its fortunes fluctuated, from 4-3-3 to 5-4-1 and finally 4-4-2. “Leeds are a good team but it was tough to play against. I'm sorry for Iran, but I like him as a goalkeeper and as a boy.”
The dramatic finale came at the end of a thoroughly enjoyable evening along the River Wear. There, a crowd of 41,769 enjoyed Willy Gnont's excellent wing play, and the Italian's quick feet and even faster mind not only produced two goals for Leeds, but also a crowning achievement. Among his teammates are the impressive Joel Pirouet and Ao Tanaka.
Chris Rigg is only 17 years old, but the England youth international is already proving to be a magnet for scouts from some of Europe's biggest clubs. Part of the appeal is Rigg's ability to blend central midfield reinforcement with exquisite passing and a useful knack for pushing forward to score some important goals. In nine minutes, he probably added millions of dollars to his price tag, emphasizing his mastery of the latter trick. Meslier made a good save to deflect a shot from Dennis Cirkin, but Rigg tapped in the rebound from close range.
Not that Le Bris had any time to relax. Sure enough, Leeds quickly equalized when Piroue deftly missed his marker and headed a cross from Gnonthos, which was probably offside, past a helpless Anthony Patterson. It was the first goal Sunderland have conceded at the Stadium of Light this season.
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Farke believes that Rigg and the talented 19-year-old Bellingham have at times looked like inexperienced teenagers in a team that will be led by Tanaka and Joe Rothwell, who are considered second choice in central midfield. He must have been happy to be there.
Bellingham was booked for a foul on Pillow early in the second half, but in general Sunderland were a little reluctant to get in the visitors' faces, much less press Leeds high up the pitch and risk a failed counter-attack. Even more so.
Perhaps this attitude of trying to pull Leeds away from time to time was a wise strategy. Because as the new half unfolded and Patrick Roberts raced more and more down the right, Sunderland gradually started to take some risks and Leeds pounced.
Remarkably, no one was following Firpo, the visiting left-back, when he accelerated into the area and, after an exchange of passes with Gnont, fired a left-footed shot just out of Patterson's reach. is. All that remained was that Meslier had inadvertently favored his old master.
