Coming off two losses and with just four points in the bank, the vibes were surprisingly good for Sunderland during the international break, and why not? We’d gone punch-for-punch with the two best teams in the country and had been improving with each game, but that upward trend ran headlong into a blue and white wall on Saturday.
Despite playing for the final thirty eight minutes with a man advantage, Sunderland were toothless in the attack in a 2-0 loss to Brighton at the Stadium of Light.
Just minutes
after Maxim De Cuyper beat Robin Roefs to the short side to open the scoring, a VAR check handed Pascal Struijk a red card for T-boning Wilson Isidor just outside the penalty area. Granit Xhaka forced a save on the ensuing free kick, and, for a moment, it seemed like a change in fortunes was coming.
Sunderland, however, forced only one more save in the match and none after the sixty sixth minute, before Jaouen Hadjam put the game away in the ninety third, finishing off a counter from a terrible Roefs giveaway to the keeper’s far side.
Sunderland started with Roefs in goal, Trai Hume, Nordi Mukiele, Kevin Danso and Reinildo across the back, Xhaka, Noah Sadiki and Enzo Le Fée in the midfield and Thomas Meunier, Wilson Isidor and Nilson Angulo in attack.
The Black Cats’ most dangerous stretch came after the twenty minute mark.
First, Xhaka slipped Le Fée through and Isidor steered the Frenchman’s first-touch central pass off the post. On the ensuing corner kick, the first ball found Meunier unmarked but the Belgian volleyed a flat pass to no one instead of taking a shot.
A couple of minutes later, it was Xhaka’s turn to spurn a shooting opportunity inside the area, instead attempting unsuccessfully to force the ball into Isidor.
From almost the same spot five minutes later, Meunier had another chance. He smoothly took Sadiki’s pass and stepped past Luka Vušković, but Ferdi Kadioğlu slid across to block the shot.
“We created a few chances, I think, going around and in behind, but we lacked a bit of composure in the final third,” said Sunderland manager Régis Le Bris post-match.
“The decision-making, the accuracy of the last pass [wasn’t there], and in these kinds of games, if you don’t score when you’ve got your opportunity, the opponent can seize the only ones in the second half.”
Soon after, Meunier went down with an injury and was replaced by Malick Fofana with Angulo moving to the right side.
Brighton’s only first-half shot on target came eight minutes in when a Danso misplay set Diego Gomez free, and Roefs came off his line quickly to stymie the shot just inside the penalty area.
The Seagulls’ only other clear-cut chance of the half was the period’s last touch. Pascal Gross floated a free kick from the left side where somehow three Brighton players were unmarked, including former Leeds man Pascal Struijk. Struijk headed across the goalmouth, but the ball glanced off the post, triggering the halftime whistle.
“It was a tight game, especially in the first half. Intense,” added Le Bris. “With two teams really well organised.”
In the fifty third minute following a poor Roefs clearance, Gomez headed the throw-in forward to Groß, who turned and passed diagonally past a sliding Hume for De Cuyper to finish.
Sunderland’s possession advantage for the match jumped from 51% to 62% after the red card, and the Black Cats attempted eight more shots, but only Xhaka’s immediate effort gave Bart Verbruggen any problems.
“We all know what a good side they’ve been against the ball,” said Danso.
“They’re really aggressive out of possession, and they did really well today, and it was hard to break them down, especially when the final pass was always missing.”
Le Bris tried to impact the match with several substitutes, but Dayann Méthalie, Jocelin Ta Bi and debutant Juan Riquelme Angulo did little to change things.
Sunderland return to action on Thursday in the Europa League against Portuguese second-tier side Torreense in Leiria, Portugal.
“Learn, reset and go again,” said Le Bris.
