CHRIS RIGG showed he is the Real heel as his cheeky finish settled this Wear-Tees showdown.
The 17-year-old’s displays have led to speculation that he could find himself with Jude Bellingham as a team-mate in Spain instead of the Madrid star’s younger brother Jobe at Sunderland.
Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris said: “He’s like a symbol of the process and game model. He always wants to learn and play, whatever the circumstances.
“He deserves to play like that because what I can see on the pitch in training is that he’s preparing for these circumstances and I’m happy for him.
“But you can perform for one, two, three, four or five games, the reality of the high level is to perform for a whole season and during multiple seasons.
“We have many things to develop but his attitude and behaviour are interesting.”
While Le Bris was getting his teenage kicks, opposite number Michael Carrick was once again cursing his team’s finishing.
Less than five minutes were on the clock before the first opportunity fell Boro’s way.
Tommy Conway pounced on a loose ball, fed Isaiah Jones down the right, then headed the winger’s cross against the woodwork.
And we had not even reached the ten-minute mark when Trai Hume escaped with just a yellow for a crunching challenge that left Emmanuel Latte Lath that he never really recovered from.
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It took Patrick Roberts to get the Sunderland supporters off their feet as his mazy dribble from the right was only denied a glorious finish to cap it off by a great Aidan Morris tackle.
But it was the former Boro man at the heart of it as the deadlock was broken and it all came from Matt Clarke header over when free from eight yards.
A punt forward at the restart from Anthony Patterson was flicked on and Ayling failed to clear, allowing Romaine Mundle to pounce and charge forward to feed it to Roberts.
He cut inside and hit a low cross-cum-shot that George Edmundson could only parry just agonisingly far enough away from Seny Dieng, and Rigg reacted quickest to poke it wide of the stopper and backheel home.
Carrick, whose team remain on eight points, said: “The goal was a break, it fell to them, and other than that I thought we limited them to a few individual moments.
“We had the first big chance with Tommy and then it was a 100 per cent red card on Manny really, I don’t get why it’s not been given. So two big moments.”
The calmness and audacity of the finish belonged on a stage like the Bernabeu – and with more of this the reports linking him with a move there won’t be going away.
Finn Azaz and Jones retialited by trying in vain to get Boro on level terms while Dieng saved from Mundle.
And referee Simon Hooper almost caused a riot right at the end of additional time by waving away the Sunderland attacker’s screams for a penalty after being pushed over by Ayling.
Bor o countered as Latte Lath suddenly found himself in, but his connection on the bounce only managed to send the ball over as the home crowd roared their disgust at the official.
Roberts knew he had the beating of Neto Borges every time, and it was his cut inside and shot again that got the crowd going after the break, curling wide from 20 yards.
The usually calm Michael Carrick, not for the first time in this, cut a frustrated figure in his technical area as the visitors struggled to lay a glove on their rivals.
It was time to take action and turn to a teenager of his own in on-loan Liverpool winger Ben Doak from the bench.
The Scotland international, 18, made an instant impact, playing in Morris, who allowed it to run across him, but his effort was off target.
But it was almost game over when Mundle’s fierce 20-yard free-kick smashed against the post, but it matter not as his side held on to make it 15 pints from their opening six matches.
