Ian Clark says…
Game time for some youngsters
Good to see some players getting minutes in the shape of Malick Fofana, Methalie, Jocelin Ta Bi and Juan Angulo.
Fofana and Ta Bi had one or two bright moments but that’s about it for positives.
Lack of creativity
There was a real lack of quality or creativity in the final third all afternoon — we barely created any chances, never mind clear-cut ones.
There also wasn’t really any spark going forward and frustratingly it was worse against ten men than it was before the red card.
Half the team was below par
Granit Xhaka stood out with some poor passes,
terrible long range shots and a lack of urgency.
Nilson Angulo, Kevin Danso, Reinildo, Trai Hume, Robin Roefs and even Enzo Le Fée struggled at times. No team wins games in the Premier League with that many poor performances.
However poor Angulo was, it doesn’t help anyone when fans sing Chemsdine Talbi’s name. I just don’t get it.
John Wilson says…
Decent Sunderland squad depth
Without Dan Ballard, we still have plenty of options at the back, and Omar Alderete was still on the bench.
Reassuring to know that we’re building a squad for all eventualities. We’re not quite there yet but the building blocks are going down.
Still three points up?
By my calculations, we’re still three points better off than against the same teams last season.
That’s all I can think of.
Sunderland fail to get going
What a strange, flat start to the game. We struggled to get going in the first half and from where I sit, the crowd was outsung by the Seagulls early on.
I thought the crowd would be more up for it but in fairness, the team offered little to get behind.
Huffing and puffing, but no houses blown down
I’m afraid it was one of those days where nothing seemed to work.
We pressed more and had more possession after they went down to ten men, but the clinical finishing was gone.
For me, the worst display of the season.
Lars Knutsen says…
An even first half
The first half often felt like a methodical chess game, with two talented midfields generally cancelling each other out, but in some ways that felt like a relief after the 5-3 defeat to Manchester City.
There wasn’t much goalmouth action — in contrast to that last game. All was to change in the second period.
A warning from Pascal Struijk
Sunderland’s defence started well but the BBC reported the last touch of the first half as the most exciting moment of the game as Brighton’s Struijk’s looping header came back off the post with Roefs beaten.
This was a warning as Brighton scored two excellent goals and we failed to take advantage of being up against ten men.
No imagination from Sunderland
Strangely, our attack troubled Bart Verbuggen less after the red card — we looked tired and showed little imagination going forward.
This was discouraging and obviously we can say that Brian Brobbey was missed, but if this feature of our play persists, this will be a long, hard season.
Little impact from our summer signings
The presence of summer acquisitions Dayann Méthalie , Juan Angulo and Malick Fofana, who replaced Meunier in the first half, was limited and didn’t drive the team forward, especially in the second half.
One has to give Brighton full credit for an outstanding second half performance. The fans were looking for a positive contribution from these new players but clearly felt let down, with the stadium emptying before the end.
Malc Dugdale says…
Experience for Juan Angulo
The young lad was thrown in to try and get something, and that’ll serve him well for later.He didn’t rip any trees up but as a teenager time is on his side
A competitive first half showing
I thought in the first half we were good value for a goalless draw and we maybe could’ve nicked a lead.
Wilson Isidor was unlucky to have a chance deflected against the post and whilst we didn’t create a lot more, to hold such an in-form team as we did was a decent showing
A passive and error-prone defensive showing
The lads once again defended poorly and gave the ball away softly for the first Brighton goal, and we were second to most things after the break.
When even Granit Xhaka has a bad day, you know it isn’t your best. He was poor for me.
I don’t mind losing to a good side that plays well but we didn’t challenge or create enough after half time, and it’s one of the first games this season when I feel the team had no reason to be off colour, but weren’t at the races at all, especially in the second period.
A misfire against ten men
Not getting something from a game with an extra man for over half an hour is very poor. There’s no wrapping that in cotton wool — they had a lead to defend but we have to get something from a situation like that.
The other thing that surprised me was Régis Le Bris taking off our most creative player in Enzo Le Fée and replacing him with Dayann Methalie and Jocelin Ta Bi. If anyone is going to find a pass to cut open a ten man team, it’s Le Fée, so that was a confusing decision from the gaffer.
This is far from the end of the world, although I’m sure many online will suggest that.
We’ve played the top three and lost to them all: two at home and one away.
We simply have to do better against Bournemouth and Leeds, but either side of those matches we have a couple of key European games to focus on, which hopefully can give this Brian Brobbey-less team a few ideas as to how we get four to six points from the next two games in the Premier League.
Mark Ryan says…
Sunderland’s young attackers get their chance
It was nice to see Juan Angulo and Jocelin Ta Bi on the pitch.
They didn’t do anything but it was still nice to see them and it’s nice to be nice.
Context is key
Yes, we’ve lost three straight games and have gotten just one point from the last four, but at the end of the weekend, Brighton, Manchester City and Arsenal will be top three teams in the table.
At the moment, fourth place is Brentford.
Things to be concerned about?
I know it’s too early to panic, but is it too early to panic?
Positivity over the break was based off how well The Lads played in losses to Arsenal and Man City, but this was a poor performance. Injuries and starting to pile up and the fixtures are too.
Need a big win at Torreense on Thursday to reset the vibes for both the squad and the fans.
Some poor individual displays
Enzo Le Fée was surprisingly off it and Granit Xhaka wasn’t great either.
Have to wonder if the three weeks off was a negative rather than a positive.
Tom Albrighton says…
Playing out from the back? Please make it stop
We’re simply no good at it
Every week, it’s the same story: slowing our game down, putting ourselves under pressure and more often than not conceding as a result.
It suits nobody in the team yet we’re still doing it…why?
A lack of desire from Sunderland?
It feels horrible to say it but this teams desire isn’t anywhere near where it used to be; “Defensively passive” would be the mild way to put it.
What stings is watching a ten-man Brighton spend thirty minutes defending like we did last season: full of heart, desire and passion.
We’re a shadow of our former selves.
Questionable substitutions from Régis Le Bris
Against men for thirty minutes, and we finished the game with four defenders and two defensive midfielders on the pitch.
Trai Hume and Noah Sadiki have had particularly poor games yet saw out proceedings whilst we left creative options on the bench.
I don’t think there’s any excuse for such a timid approach.
“Don’t look down!”
You’d right to mitigate a very poor start to the season by highlighting the fact we have played three of the top four, but unfortunately you live and die by the points on the board.
“Can’t defend and can’t score” is a heady mix that’ll have us fighting for our lives and not before long at this rate — a real shame too, as the current league form will soon start to sour our European campaign.
Strap yourselves in. I think it’s about to get bumpy.
