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Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s starling metamorphosis from an almost forgotten man to a striker on the verge of an England recall continued as his seventh goal in the last six games earned Leeds a potentially important point by the River Wear.
There were moments when Calvert-Lewin and company threatened to end Sunderland’s unbeaten Premier League record here but Régis Le Bris’s side are no pushovers these days and, by the end Daniel Farke looked happy enough with a draw.
Along the way an always compelling game provided a refreshing antidote to suggestions that the gap between the Premier League and the Championship is becoming almost insurmountable. On this exhilarating evidence this pair are not only more than good enough to stay up but the top tier would be a much poorer place without them.
The achilles injury that threatens to deprive Sunderland of Dan Ballard’s reassuring presence at centre-half for up to five weeks prompted Nordi Mukiele’s relocation from his preferred right-back role.
The former Paris Saint-Germain defender is best deployed at full-back but, not for the first time, Mukiele demonstrated that he is a far from shabby centre-back.
Indeed by the time the latest in a line of the Frenchman’s hallmark long throws prefaced Simon Adingra’s 28th minute opening goal, Mukiele was already thoroughly frustrating Calvert-Lewin and Noah Okafor in the visiting attack.
When his throw finally worked its way to Granit Xhaka, the Sunderland captain’s tone raising, defence bisecting, through pass found Simon Adingra on the left. The angle was awkward in the extreme but the former Brighton winger opted to shoot and such ambition paid off as his strike swerved and dipped before dropping into the gap just between the diving Lucas Perri and the far post.
It was Adingra’s first goal in a Sunderland shirt and perhaps helped erase some of the winger’s disappointment at being left out of the Ivory Coast squad currently competing in the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Le Bris has lost six Sunderland players to Afcon this month but the loss of regular starters such as Reinildo, Noah Sadiki and Chemsdine Talbi offered Dennis Cirkin, Chris Rigg and Adingra rare opportunities they, initially at least, seemed determined to make the most of.
Ditto Trai Hume. When Mukiele plays right-back the Northern Ireland full-back often starts on the bench but here Hume was back in his favourite berth and it was his tremendous goalline clearance that preventing Leeds from equalising as half-time beckoned.
When Calvert-Lewin volleyed a cross on Brenden Aaronson’s shot looked to have beaten Robin Roefs but, suddenly, and heroically, Hume intercepted to divert the danger,
An injury to Joe Rodon dictated that, shortly after Adingra’s goal, Farke had introduced Ao Tanaka and ordered his team to revert to a back four. This abandonment of the 3-5-2 system that has so revived Leeds in recent weeks was perhaps informed by the need for more control of a midfield dominated by Xhaka and friends but it soon exposed visiting defensive vulnerabilities.
As the first half drew to a close a fabulous, rearguard confounding, through ball lifted over the top from Enzo Le Fée left Brian Brobbey clean through but although the former Ajax striker knocked the ball beyond Lucas his connection was poor and Jake Bijol was able to clear.
Within what seemed seconds, Farke’s team were reprieved once more when Adingra crossed from the left and Brobbey’s header rebounded off the crossbar.
How Brobbey must have rued those missed chances as Calvert-Lewin began the second half by scoring his seventh goal in six games.
That deserved equaliser was swept into the net by a striker starting to compile quite a case for inclusion in England’s World Cup squad at the end of a gloriously fluent passing move that started with Perri, involved all 11 Leeds players and concluded with Aaronson’s low right wing cross.
If that delighted the travelling fans, some of those who had made the 100-mile trip north from West Yorkshire remained disgruntled with Farke for allowing Rodon to hobble around the pitch for 15 minutes after sustaining that injury. Many seemed convinced that, had the central defender been fully mobile, Adingra might not have been able to score his opener.
No matter, Farke’s switch to 4-4-2 was working a treat as Sunderland were left chasing shadows and barely seemed able to touch the ball let alone escape their own half.
Le Bris responded by replacing Brobbey and Rigg with the pace and guile of Wilson Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda. Sunderland duly improved considerably, the game became thrillingly stretched and both sets of fans united in applauding their teams off at the final whistle.
