I watched Sunderland's dramatic draw with Leeds United and here's three things I left thinking

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Sunderland drew 2-2 with Leeds United at the Stadium of Light on Friday night

Sunderland snatched a valuable point against Leeds United on Friday night in one of the most dramatic finishes to a game at the Stadium of Light.

Ilan Meslier’s late error preserved Sunderland’s unbeaten home record and sent the Black Cats into the international break on a high. Here’s Phil’s key takeaways from a brilliant contest..

A SLICE OF LUCK - BUT LOTS OF POSITIVES

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It will probably take a while to make sense of what happened in the 97th minute at the Stadium of Light on Friday night.

Lapse in concentration, divot, divine intervention or ball-of-the-century style spin from Alan Browne? We’ll never truly know. From Sunderland’s perspective you can’t really put a price on moments like this, the type that lives long in the memory of those present and can help build that feeling that something special might be happening in a campaign. The celebrations in the corner and a post-match interview for the ages from Alan Browne will only serve to further strengthen a growing bond between team and fans, much needed after those painful months at the end of the last season.

First and foremost though it meant another point on the board against what was clearly the strongest opponent we have seen this season. Sunderland started strongly and were worthy of their early lead but Leeds bounced back strongly and could easily have pulled clear in the first half, their pressing and retention of the ball a cut above. This was despite their two first choice central midfielders being ruled out through injury. And before Meslier’s error they had shown the other side of their game, limiting the hosts to very few clear chances through the final quarter. Those who remembered Daniel Farke gently chiding Sunderland for ‘parking the bus’ in the same fixture this time last year might have had a wry smile as his side used every trick in the book to slow the game down here, but they did it very effectively and had earned that right with their sweeping move for the second goal. Their decision making in possession was good throughout the second half and Wilfried Gnonto surely delivered the most impressive individual display from an opposition player through these opening nine games. That they are a strong automatic promotion contender is obvious and as such, Sunderland can take real heart from large aspects of their performance. Their strong start, the way they were able to get back into the game at the end of the first half following a tactical tweak from Regis Le Bris and the way they were able to control possession for much of the second.

Leeds will feel unfortunate but they’ll know they didn’t have it all their own way. The visitors shaded possession, expected goals and shots there wasn’t much in it and that feels like a fair reflection of where Sunderland are. They have demonstrated that they have nothing to fear from any side in this division but also that there is still significant room for improvement. Nine games into the season and with nineteen points on the board, that’s a good place to be.

A RECURRING ISSUE FOR LE BRIS

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The early indications are that Le Bris isn’t a head coach likely to rotate heavily or make large numbers of changes in games. It’s clear he values continuity and stability on the pitch and wants to keep changes to a minimum both from game to game and within them.

There is clearly an issue with the depth of the squad at the moment, however, with Le Bris reluctant to make multiple changes in the latter stages. Tommy Watson has now firmly broken into his plans and Browne is a high-calibre player to be able to introduce, but Ian Poveda’s injury issues means beyond that the game-changing options are limited - at least in Le Bris’s view. It’s already cost Sunderland at both Watford and Plymouth, where the opposition boss was able to act earlier and more decisively to change the momentum of the game. Without Meslier’s error, it would also have cost Sunderland here. The situation should improve after the international break with Aaron Connolly, Dan Ballard and Eliezer Mayenda all expected to return and that is going to be crucial if Sunderland want to take a strong haul of points from another three-game week. Going forward, holding onto the ball better and for longer spells in games is also going to be key in battling against fatigue through the winter months.

A STRONG START BUT PLENTY OF WORK AHEAD

Seven points from five means it has been a fairly solid block of games for Sunderland since the last international break, and one that has preserved their status as early promotion contenders. It’s also a dip from their output in the opening month and primarily that is due to teams starting to find ways to create chances on a more regular basis.

The international break has probably come at a good time for Sunderland, not just to get key players closer to full fitness but also to give Le Bris some valuable time with the group on the training ground. Fans can rightly be very optimistic about this young team, who are yet to be comprehensively outplayed in many of their games, but they are clearly not yet the finished article.

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