How Leeds United duo Mateo Joseph and Joe Rothwell reacted to Illan Meslier’s late mistake against Sunderland

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Everyone will have seen it by now, but Illan Meslier’s horrendous mistake saw Leeds United go from a massive three points away at Sunderland to drawing at the Stadium of the Light in the final seconds.

Leeds had actually gone 1-0 down to the Championship’s first-placed side, going into the ninth round of matches. Sunderland wonderkid Chris Rigg had opened the scoring for Regis Le Bris’ impressive outfit.

But Leeds equalised in the first half. The in-form Wilfried Gnonto supplied a gorgeous cross that left Joel Piroe with the simple task of cushioning a header past Anthony Patterson, scoring his fourth this season.

Then, in the second half, injury-hit Leeds went ahead. Junior Firpo’s forward-surging run saw him play a one-two with Gnonto before a wonderful finish into the bottom corner, Daniel Farke’s side leading 2-1.

It looked as if Leeds were going to secure all three points. They had limited Sunderland to a few half chances, a potentially huge win going into the international break but then, Meslier dropped the ball.

• READ MORE: Underrated Leeds star shines in near-win against Sunderland on Friday

Joe Rothwell impresses in Sunderland draw, posts on Instagram

The Frenchman allowed an innocuous ball over the top to float past him, seemingly blaming the pitch. Pascal Struijk tried to take the heat off Meslier, by agreeing with his goalkeeper regarding the surface.

Jermaine Beckford also leaped to the defence of Meslier after the game. But it was a woeful mistake from the Leeds goalkeeper, who has kept five clean sheets in his nine Championship matches this season.

Rothwell started his first Championship game after injuries to Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev, and he really impressed on debut. He said: “Bitter pill to swallow, time to rest and recoup and go again in a few weeks.”

Mateo Joseph also reacted after being dropped by Daniel Farke

The Leeds manager chose to start Piroe for the first time over Joseph this season in the league. It saw Spain U21 man Joseph drop to the bench, having only managed one goal for Leeds in the Championship.

Joseph is set to travel with Spain U21’s side over the next fortnight and Leeds will be hoping he remains fit over the next week. He said: “Not the outcome we wanted, but proud of our fight. Together we rise!”

After Saturday’s results, the draw leaves Leeds in a solid fifth place after two draws in a row. Had Meslier picked the ball up and made a routine save, Leeds would have sat fourth, level on points with Burnley.

The second international break of the season now begins and Farke will be hoping for a couple of stars to return. Indeed, Farke is hopeful that Manor Solomon and Dan James will be available after the break.