Régis Le Bris remains very much a mentor to Illan Meslier after coaching the Leeds goalkeeper in Lorient’s academy in their native Brittany but, on the eve of kick-off here, Sunderland’s manager said that, for once, he hoped to see his former protege picking the ball out of the net.
Meslier did so twice, the second time in calamitous fashion as his stoppage time error handed Le Bris the goal that keeps Sunderland clear at the top of the Championship and preserves their unbeaten home record.
It was the 97th minute when Jobe Bellingham headed on a free-kick and the substitute Alan Browne chipped the ball tamely back into the box. Collections rarely come more routine for goalkeepers but, for some reason, Meslier was deceived by the ball’s apparently benign bounce and permitted it to bypass both his hands and right leg en route into the back of the net.
Indeed that equaliser was registered as a Junior Firpo own goal but Meslier, who a little earlier had sustained a nasty blow on the head, will blame no one but himself for failing to stop such an apparently innocuous mishit.
“I’ve worked in professional football for 30 years but I’ve never seen anything like that,” said the Leeds manager Daniel Farke. “Normally in that situation the goalkeeper takes the ball, clears it and the final whistle blows. I don’t need to say anything to Illan now, I’ll wait until the dust settles. It’s a sucker punch.”
Like his Leeds counterpart, Le Bris made a point of hugging a disconsolate Meslier at the final whistle.“Football is unpredictable and you can’t anticipate a mistake like that but we pushed to the end and we deserved the draw,” said Sunderland’s manager whose side variously changed formation from 4-3-3 to 5-4-1 and, finally 4-4-2 as their fortunes oscillated. “Leeds are a good team, they were tough to play against. I’m disappointed for Illan I like him as a goalkeeper – and as a boy.”
That dramatic finale came at the end of a thoroughly entertaining evening by the River Wear, where a crowd of 41,769 enjoyed some wonderful wing play from Willy Gnonto as the Italian’s quick feet and even faster brain not only created both Leeds goals but brought the best out in, among others teammates, the impressive Joël Piroe and Ao Tanaka.
Chris Rigg is only 17 but, already the England youth international is proving a magnet for scouts from Europe’s leading clubs. Part of the attraction is Rigg’s ability to meld central midfield enforcement with some exquisite passing and the useful knack of advancing to score a few vital goals. In the ninth minute he probably added a few million to his price tag by emphasising his mastery of the latter knack. Although Meslier made an excellent save to repel Dennis Cirkin’s shot, Rigg lashed the rebound home from close range.
Not that Le Bris could not exactly afford to relax. Sure enough Leeds swiftly equalised when Piroe expertly lost his marker and headed a cross from an arguably offside Gnonto’s beyond a helpless Anthony Patterson. It was the first goal Sunderland had conceded at the Stadium of Light this season.
Farke must have been delighted with the way his supposed second-choice central midfield pairing Tanaka and Joe Rothwell were dictating a department in which Rigg and the talented 19-year-old Bellingham at times looked like the inexperienced teenagers they are.
Bellingham was booked for a foul on Piroe at the outset of the second half but, generally, Sunderland appeared slightly reluctant to get into the visitors’ faces, let alone press Leeds high up the pitch and risk coming undone on the counterattack.
Maybe this willingness to stand off Leeds at times was a sensible strategy because as the new half unfolded and with Patrick Roberts increasingly racing down the right, Sunderland gradually began taking a few risks and Leeds pounced.
Significantly no one was shadowing the visiting left-back Firpo as he accelerated into the area and, after exchanging passes with Gnonto, swept a left-foot shot beyond Patterson’s reach. All that remained was for Meslier to do his old mentor an inadvertent favour.
