Sunderland were gifted a late point against Leeds United last weekend, owing to an error from Illan Meslier.
Sunderland fans may be feeling slightly lucky to still be in 1st place of the Championship table going into this month’s international break.
Last time out, Regis Le Bris’ men drew 2-2 with Leeds United at the Stadium of Light, in what was their first draw of the season.
Chris Rigg opened the scoring but Leeds were in front by the hour mark. And it looked as though Leeds were set to knock the Black Cats off the top spot, but for a last minute blunder from Illan Meslier.
The ball was bouncing harmlessly towards Leeds goalkeeper Meslier who completely misjudged his catch, and watched on as the ball trickled into the back of the net for a Sunderland equaliser.
Illan Meslier laughing with Regis Le Bris after Sunderland vs Leeds United
Both Leeds United fans and Sunderland fans were perplexed by the incident; the ball didn’t seem to take a huge deflection, nor did it spin out of control.
It was simply a blunder by Meslier. But after the game, the 24-year-old was pictured laughing with French compatriot Le Bris.
That incident is proving to be more frustrating for Leeds fans rather than the goal Meslier conceded in the last minute.
Speaking to MOT Leeds News, journalist Dan Bardell has rued Meslier joking with Le Bris, saying: “It won’t endear him to an increasingly frustrated fanbase, it’s not something I like to see myself either.
“He is a good keeper, particularly at Championship level, but you can’t be pictured laughing after a mistake of that magnitude.
“I feel for him to an extent, but you are leaving yourself open to criticism with that reaction.“
Sunderland definitely got lucky against Leeds United
If the shoe was on the other foot, and say for example Antony Patterson conceded a goal like that and was then laughing with Daniel Farke after the game, it would rightly frustrate Sunderland fans.
What Meslier and Le Bris were talking about remains to be seen. But the pair did work together at Lorient, and so they may have been catching up rather than joking about the goal that game.
Le Bris is very calm and respectful as a manager and he wouldn’t have been mocking the goal.
Either way, Sunderland got extremely lucky that night. They deserved a point in the end, but the game has shown Le Bris that his side may go on to struggle against their promotion rivals this season.