Leeds United fans will still be in shock a couple of days after Illan Meslier’s blunder at Sunderland on Friday night, a mistake that cost Leeds two points at the Stadium of Light.
Pascal Struijk tried to take the blame off of Meslier by blaming the ground, while Jermaine Beckford leapt to the defence of Meslier after the game. Ultimately, Leeds came within an inch of beating Sunderland.
Literally, a few seconds was the difference as Sunderland pushed for an equaliser. An innocuous-looking prod forward from substitute Alan Browne bounced in front of Meslier and somehow ended up in the net.
That happened in the 97th-minute after Leeds had fought back from 1-0 down after Chris Rigg’s opener, thanks to a brilliant Wilfried Gnonto-inspired display. The Italian created two goals to put Leeds 2-1 up.
Joel Piroe equalised before Junior Firpo looked as though he had netted the winner. But Meslier’s mistake saw Leeds go from beating the Championship’s front runners away from home, to only nabbing a point.
Ao Tanaka tells Leeds what they ‘need’ after Sunderland draw
The Japan star was handed only his second start since joining Leeds from Dusseldorf for £3.4m in the summer. Injuries to Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev saw Tanaka partnered by Joe Rothwell in the middle.
The duo worked superbly. Tanaka taking on the role of Gruev, keeping things simple but working hard in front of the defence, using his abundance of energy to keep Sunderland’s in-form attackers controlled.
Meanwhile, Rothwell dictated the tempo. His range of passing was on full show and Rothwell showed why he could be an underrated player for Leeds this term. Tanaka meanwhile, says Leeds “need” togetherness.
He said: “Always stay positive and need togetherness. I can get better.”
Tanaka’s passing crucial to Leeds coming so close to victory
It is a different role to what Tanaka might be used to and certainly, a different role to the one he was signed to provide at Elland Road. He was lured to Leeds to be that no.8, that box-to-box midfielder.
Tanaka’s stats against Sunderland, passing impressive:
- 49/51 passes completed (96.1% success rate, Leeds’ best)
- 2/3 long balls successful
- One tackle, one interception, three fouls
- One shot (off target), one key pass
But with Ampadu and Gruev out, Tanaka’s importance has grown enormously. Daniel Farke has explained Leeds are unlikely to sign any free agents and that means Tanaka will be the first name on the team sheet.
Certainly, in midfield. Unfortunately, Tanaka is set to link-up with Japan during the October break and it is crucial that he avoids injury, something which Max Wober was unable to do while with Austria last month.
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