Sunderland rescued a point against Leeds United in dramatic fashion in a fascinating top-of-the-table Championship clash.
Sunderland entered the night at the summit of the Championship table but this was inarguably Regis Le Bris’ biggest test of the season so far, and it got off to a flyer.
The Black Cats made an impressive start to the game as teenage sensation Chris Rigg tapped the ball home inside nine minutes.
Leeds then grew into the contest and Joel Piroe equalised with a header 10 minutes later but the fans were left aggrieved that it stood as the Dutchman was marginally offside.
The Whites continued to look threatening in the second half and went in front through Junior Firpo. Le Bris’ men then pushed to level the score and were handed it fortuitously as Illan Meslier made a huge blunder to preserve their unbeaten home record.
Mesler’s howler in the final minute was the games key talking point but Sunderland midfielder Dan Neil was also subject to criticism after another poor display.
- READ MORE: Sunderland player ratings vs Leeds United, Dan Neil hugely disappoints as one star gets 8/10
Sunderland fans react to Dan Neil’s performance vs Leeds United
The Englishman hasn’t had the greatest start to the season for Sunderland. In the defeat to Watford, fans were left disappointed by Neil’s ‘very poor’ display, with the 22-year-old failing to maintain his usual high standards.
Neil apologised for giving a penalty away in that defeat and then appeared to turn a corner in Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Derby County, with Kane Wilson lauding the Sunderland midfield as ‘amazing’.
Phil Smith also dubbed the youngster as ‘excellent’ in that win over Derby however, he didn’t carry that momentum into this game, in what was another lacklustre display.
The young midfielder only won just two of his ground duels and lost possession 10 times with one supporter dubbing it a ‘horror show’ performance.
“Jokes aside. Serious discussions are needed about Dan Neil,” another fan said.
“Horrific, Dan Neil needs legged from DM,” a third supporter added.
“DAN NEIL STOP GIVING FREEKICKS AWAY!!!,” a fifth responded.
“Get Dan Neil off man he’s been garbage again,” a sixth added.
- READ MORE: EFL pundit names ‘brilliant’ gem as Sunderland player of the season so far, it’s not Chris Rigg
Dan Neil showed his inexperience vs Leeds United
Neil has previously been linked with a move to the Premier League and at one point, Liverpool were scouting him.
On the evidence of this season, the Sunderland academy graduate has a long way to go before he’s playing top-flight football.
He certainly has the technical attributes in his locker but recently, he’s been very inconsistent and that is one element of his game that must change.
Currently, like most footballers do, Neil is just going through a rough patch of form and that is perfectly normal; he just needs to start turning in his usual high level displays very soon.