Sunderland secured a rare win over Middlesbrough on Saturday, with the likes of Jobe Bellingham blown away by one of his teammates.
The latest Tees-Wear derby saw the Black Cats welcome Sunderland to the Stadium of Light on September 21st.
Regis Le Bris will have been keen for his men to bounce back against Boro after Sunderland lost 3-2 versus Plymouth Argyle in their previous Championship fixture.
Le Bris’ inexperienced squad made several defensive errors versus Wayne Rooney’s side but were able to get back to winning ways against their North East rivals.
The Sunderland boss ended an unwanted record vs Boro, becoming the first manager to win their first Tees-Wear derby since Mick McCarthy all the way back in 2005.
The victory also means the Mackems are still sitting in the automatic promotion places after six games.
The main man Sunderland have to thank for that is 17-year-old sensation, Chris Rigg.
- READ MORE: Regis Le Bris could soon be hit with troubling Sunderland dilemma despite Middlesbrough win
Lynden Gooch, Jobe Bellingham and more react to Chris Rigg goal
The only goal of the game came in the 24th minute via the teenager, who has since earned much praise for the audacious backheel effort.
One journalist was blown away by Riggs’ goal against Boro, simply tweeting, ‘The audacity’.
Elsewhere, following his match-winning strike, Rigg is being backed for an England call-up by the Sunderland faithful.
Now, several of his teammates have taken to social media to share their reaction to the youngster’s backheeled effort.
Taking to the comments section of Rigg’s latest Instagram post, Jobe Bellingham wrote ‘Ole ole ole’.
Lynden Gooch added ‘Some boy’, Romaine Mundle also commented ‘Some Boy’, while Jenson Seelt simply said ‘Aura’ followed by an up arrow emoji.
Chris Rigg may be too good for Sunderland
It is becoming clearer and clearer with each passing game week that Rigg is going to go on to become a world-class player.
The level of confidence it takes to backheel a ball from a tight angle in one of your side’s biggest games of the season is something very few players will ever possess in their career.
As well as playing with a belief and desire well beyond his years, Rigg is one of the most technically gifted players to come out of Sunderland’s ranks in years.
The 17-year-old has only played 32 times for the Black Cats’ senior team but his potential is so high.
Rigg remains under contract in the North East until 2027 but if he keeps up the current form he has showed early in this season, it would not be surprising to see several Premier League sides begin to show an interest in him, especially if Sunderland do not win promotion in the 2024/25 season.