Sunderland 2 Leeds United 2: Illan Meslier error at Stadium of Light

It seemed as if time had stood still. Just as Sunderland looked certain to suffer a first home defeat of the season, the most remarkable of goalkeeping errors from Illan Meslier salvaged them a point.

Deep into stoppage time, and trailing 2-1, the Black Cats’ final chance of claiming a draw looked to have disappeared when Alan Browne overhit his attempted ball into the area.

As Browne admitted after the final whistle, it was a poor delivery into the box. All Meslier had to was pick the ball up, but inexplicably, the Leeds goalkeeper, who started his career at Lorient under Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris, allowed it to squirm from his grasp and stutter into the goal.

The Stadium of Light erupted, Meslier was crestfallen, Browne could hardly believe his luck. A game that had ebbed and flowed throughout ended with a barely-believable final twist.

A draw was probably a fair result, for all that it had looked extremely unlikely when the clock ticked past the 90th minute. Sunderland started superbly, with Chris Rigg opening the scoring, but Leeds roared back through goals from Joel Piroe and Junior Firpo. In the end, though, Meslier’s mishap proved crucial. Yes, Leeds were falling apart again.

Regis Le Bris will have been delighted with his side’s doggedness, which is becoming an increasingly pleasing characteristic of this new-look team. There are plenty of things to work on during the forthcoming international break, but the strength of Sunderland’s spirit is unquestionable.

Their attacking potential was evident in the early stages of last night’s game. With a bristling pre-match atmosphere having set the tone, Sunderland made a whirlwind start that saw them swarming all over Leeds’ players from the very first minute.

With their slick passing interplay and fluid attacking movement slicing their opponents apart seemingly at will, the Black Cats should really have taken the lead in the fifth minute. Patrick Roberts picked out Jobe Bellingham with a pull-back from the right-hand side, but having scored a long-range screamer against Derby on Tuesday night, the midfielder passed up a much easier opportunity as he side-footed over from just inside the box.

No matter. Four minutes later, and when Sunderland attacked down their right again, the deadlock was broken. A wonderful passing move resulted in Roberts sending Trai Hume to the byline, and the full-back rolled a low cross to the back post. Dennis Cirkin’s initial effort was clawed away by a sprawling Illan Meslier, but Rigg was on hand to stab home the rebound from close range. Having also found the net in last month’s home win over Middlesbrough, the teenager is developing a welcome habit of scoring against Sunderland’s promotion rivals.

It was a dream start for the hosts, but rather than seeking to press home their advantage, they allowed Leeds back into the game. Daniel Farke’s side enjoyed increasingly lengthy spells of possession as the first half developed, with Sunderland’s tendency to drop deep inviting pressure onto them.

Only a magnificent sliding challenge from Luke O’Nien prevented Piroe from getting a shot away at the back post in the 19th minute, but it did not take long for the Leeds striker to find sufficient space to score.

Three minutes later, Wilfried Gnonto slung over a cross from the right, and after peeling off Chris Mepham, and with O’Nien playing him just about onside, Piroe directed a powerful header past Anthony Patterson. After four successive home clean sheets, it was the first goal Sunderland had conceded at the Stadium of Light this season.

It was not, however, against the run of play, with Leeds’ dominance of possession becoming increasingly pronounced. An almighty scramble in Sunderland’s six-yard box almost resulted in the visitors claiming a second, with the Wearsiders struggling to close off the supply line to their opponents’ front three.

That said, though, Sunderland were still a threat on the break, and Bellingham almost restored his side’s lead five minutes before the interval with a first-time strike that took a hefty deflection off Joe Rodon before flying just wide. A couple of minutes later, and Bellingham was going close again, rolling a 20-yard shot just past the right-hand post.

Having regained their composure after Leeds’ spell of dominance, Sunderland would have hoped to carry their strong end to the first half into the start of the second period.

Instead, it was Leeds back on the front foot. Dennis Cirkin produced a superb sliding block to prevent Gnonto from finding the target, but the Black Cats’ defence was powerless to prevent their opponents from claiming the lead shortly before the hour mark.

A swift break downfield ended with Firpo playing a one-two with Largie Ramazani, and having slipped into a pocket of space in the 18-yard box, the left-back rolled a clinical finish into the bottom corner. Sunderland were appealing for a potential free-kick at the other end of the pitch as Leeds began their attacking move, but the manner in which the home side’s defence was eviscerated in the space of a couple of passes was nevertheless alarming.

Could the Black Cats respond? Roberts threatened with a couple of dribbles down the right, while Rigg burst through the middle on a couple of occasions, only to be crowded out by the Leeds defence. It felt like a change was perhaps required, but Le Bris opted to stick with the same XI for 73 minutes before replacing Rigg with Alan Browne. Had Aaron Connolly been anywhere near match fit, the recent free signing, who was on the bench for the first time in Sunderland colours, would surely have been coming on.

Browne did little to influence the game for most of his time on the field, but his final act proved crucial. In truth, his ball into the box was a poor one, but it didn’t matter when Meslier made his horrendous mistake.