Sunderland were held to a goalless draw at Preston North End on Wednesday. But in what was an overall frustrating performance, there were a few bright sparks.
Sunderland have now drawn their last two games in the Championship, failing to score in either as well after a goalless draw against QPR at the weekend, and then another goalless draw at Preston North End.
Regis Le Bris made some changes to his XI for the game at Deepdale. He brought in Aaron Connolly and Tommy Watson for their first starts of the season.
The pair had mixed performances overall; Connolly especially as he struggled to get into the game. But there was some bright sparks from him and from Watson too, and from some other players in the Sunderland ranks.
Perhaps the Black Cats’ best performer on the night was Chris Rigg.
Adrian Durham lauds Sunderland ‘talent’ Chris Rigg after Preston performance
Rigg, 17, started the game in a three-strong midfield alongside Dan Neil, who played in a deeper role, and Alan Browne who struggled on his return to Preston.
But Rigg had a good game in midfield. Especially when Sunderland were hitting Preston on the counter, Rigg played a key role in spreading the ball wide and starting attacks.
The Black Cats academy man has now featured 13 times in the Championship this season and has four goals to his name.
Posting on X after the Sunderland and Preston game, talkSPORT pundit Adrian Durham hailed Rigg as ‘the best player on the pitch’, saying: “Sunderland’s Chris Rigg is 17. By far the best player on the pitch at Preston tonight.
“A privilege to see such a talent. Has so much time, so comfortable on the ball. The boy’s got a future.”
Chris Rigg stats vs Preston North End
Rigg recorded the seventh-most touches of the ball for Sunderland at Preston (42), completing the sixth-most accurate passes on the night too (20 out of 27 attempted).
He also made one key pass (joint-most of any Sunderland player) and recorded the fourth-most duels of any Sunderland man (six completed out of 10 attempted).
Rigg though was an overall nuisance for Sunderland in the middle of the park and like Durham says, he was perhaps the best player on the pitch, despite being the youngest.
He’s going from strength to strength this season, and January may yet see a lot of interest from the likes of Manchester United in Rigg.