by This time it was Leed’s United that provides the drama of stoppage time.
When Sunderland demanded a point against Daniel Farke’s team in the Stadion of Light at the beginning of this season, Illan Meslier produced one of the great goalkeeper of all time in the dying seconds.
Pascal Struijk’s 95th-minute winner last night was not quite as unexpected, but it was as dramatic as Sunderland condemned to a defeat that looked unlikely for most of the night.
The defeat was hard against the black cats, who had led for the best part of 45 minutes after Wilson Isidor ended a only professional team exhibition in the first half with a clinical deep strike.
After leaving the bank, Struijjk went home for 78 minute, but even then it looked as if Sunderland was having a point to stay in the automatic doctoral race.
Instead, Struijk threw another header home in destruction to leave the eight points of Regis Le Bris. This is hardly an insurmountable gap with 13 games, but it felt like a very harmful blow.
Leeds has withdrawn from Meslier’s mistakes. Le Bris’ task is now to ensure that the positive elements from the display of the last night in the middle of the end result are not completely lost. The black cats delivered strongly, determined and offer a threat to the counterattack. Ultimately, however, it was not good enough to rule out a Leeds team that will safely return to the Premier League.
Last season Mike Dodd’s Sunderland set up to be ultra-defensive in the corresponding games and spoiled his way to a point. Regis Le Bris never wanted to follow the same approach, with his team selection underlined to bring the game to Leeds.
After Salis Abdul was championed on the bench, Le Bris stuck the formation and the staff who had seen in front of Luton Town five days earlier, and Sunderland’s fearless way of thinking was evident from her first attack.
Dan Ballard spread the game with a long pass on Enzo Le Fee. The French midfielder chose Jobe Bellingham on the edge of the penalty area and successfully dissected a lot of players. left. Patrick Roberts confiscated the rebound, but Meslier was aware of the danger and blocked the wing player’s follow-up shot.
The double rescue would have calmed down each discomfort before the match that Meslier felt after his catastrophic mistake in the Stadium of Light at the beginning of the season, and stated the tone for a first half in which Sunderland was a constant threat on the counter hour. Attack despite Leeds who dominate the possession.
The hosts spent most of the opening time in half of the black cats, but while Dennis Cirkin blocked a shot from Dan James and Brenden Aaronson after Jayden Boogles had been on his way, Sunderland’s defense was never seriously worried. .
Instead, it was the backline of the home team that looked stretched when the black cats break, and it was the visitors who broke the dead end shortly after half an hour.
The goal owed everything to the pace and power of Isidor, with the striker racing into the insider-right channel to get a pass from Ballard. After exceeding Ethan Ampadu, he exercised the Leeds skipper when he turned into him in the 18-yard box. His later deep shot was perfect, angled by Meslier and found the network over the inside of the long post.
It was Isidors’ 12th goal for an extremely successful season for the striker, who has played even more boasting since Zenit St Petersburg’s first change of loan, into a permanent transfer in the transfer window of the last month. In the meantime, Isidor claimed a second time in the first half and looked into a header from Roberts’ Kreuz, which Meslier protruded.
Leeds defended an undefeated 14-game run in the league, and the hosts showed an increased urgency when they tried to restore parity at the beginning of the second half.
Anthony Patterson showed intelligent reflexes to cut out the manor Solomon’s cross, but Sunderland continued to defend itself with commendable commitment and organization. Both Trai Hume and Cirkin made themselves challenges in their respective full -backs, whereby Dan Neil again impressed when he wiped four in front of the four black cats. For a player who is not a natural midfielder, Neil made an excellent fist to make the position this season his own.
Leeds’ players became more and more frustrated when Sunderland continued to exclude them, and their attacks in the second half became more and more hectic. Ao Tanaka rolled a shot together shortly after the hour, but when the black cats had the rare opportunity to throw themselves forward at 20 minutes before the end of 20 minutes, Roberts cut off the Infield to drive an intelligent deep strike, saved the meslier to his right rescue.
Daniel Farke became increasingly unfortunate in the touchline, but the boss of the Leeds twice in the 71st minute double substitution to secure his side back into the game. Joe Rothwell and Struijk came up, and they combined a balance within seven minutes after the performance.
Rothwell was the architect and whipped a teasing free kick from near the left touch. Struijk rose higher than the defenders of Sunderland and looked at the goal, and while Luke O’nien tried to hold the ball on his stomach, he could not prevent him from finding the back of the network.
It looked per piece, but Struijk slapped deeply into added time again and looked at another header from a right cross.
