Calum Mills says…
Ballard balances the backline
Being 2-0 down wasn’t a great way to be introduced to the game — especially thirty minutes in — but once he came on, he seemed to settle the defence.
His no-nonsense and tough tackling approach is always a welcome sight but he has the ability to step forward with the ball. Could’ve done better with his header at the end of the first half though!
Chemsdine Talbi catches the eye
I was very surprised to see him dropped to the bench but similarly to Ballard, his introduction to the game gave United a real problem down their right.
Amad
isn’t a wingback. We know this, Talbi looked to exploit it and his link up play, tracking back and ability to cut inside just gets better every game! He had a good chance at the end of the game to halve the deficit but Senne Lammens saved well with his legs.
For me, he’s better on the left than Simon Adingra. I’m not knocking Adingra’s ability but I just think Talbi is a gem of a signing who I love watching every week. Hope he’s back in the starting line up after the international break!
Some ropey Sunderland defending
Both goals came from poor defending and that’s the first time I’ve said that this season. Omar Alderete was miles off Mason Mount for the first and it was a half-hearted attempt at blocking a well-placed effort beyond Robin Roefs.
The second goal was just poor communication. Nordi Mukiele flicks it on at the near post but Alderete was next in line to make contact with the ball. For me, that’s poor communication.
To top it all off, Trai Hume lost Benjamin Sěsko as he nipped ahead of him to flick it into the bottom corner.
Learn from it, park it, and onwards to Wolves!
I don’t doubt for one second that by the time the Wolves game comes around, this performance will be a distant memory!
James Elliott says…
Régis adapts as the game unfolds
Régis Le Bris was unafraid to make changes early on.
I think the initial team selection may have been slightly off but an early change, bringing on Dan Ballard for Simon Adingra not long after United’s second goal, tightened up our defence. I was pleased to see our manager change tactics when the game wasn’t going to plan.
Roefs impresses once again
Robin Roefs pulled off more great saves, with the Bruno Fernandes effort the most notable.
He’s really proved his worth in this team and I’m excited to continue watching his development.
A bad day at the office
Not many players performed higher than a three or four out of ten, and it could’ve been that a bit of complacency set in — especially with United’s performances and negative energy in recent times.
Either way the passing and possession was wasteful and we defended particularly poorly for United’s second goal from the long throw. No need to hit the panic button, though!
Reinildo’s absence proves costly
Arthur Masuaku struggled again, with a number of poor passes and dodgy defending.
I think we need to swap Trai Hume to the opposite side next game and bring in Lutsharel Geertruida from the start until Reinildo is available again.
Tom Albrighton says…
Dan Ballard shores things up
The introduction of Ballard was one that helped really solidify Sunderland when it looked for all the world as though we were about to go under and take a hiding as a result.
2-0 at Old Trafford is a lonely place — not least when this current iteration of Manchester United is a running joke. It was a really bold decision and one that to a degree paid off and would’ve done far more so, should we have been more clinical at the other end.
A strange positive to take but a positive regardless.
Sunderland show a good mentality
We know this team is strong but standing tall at 2-0 was nice to see and even more so when it’s fair to say we were actually the better team for pretty much the entire second half.
If we played that way for ninety minutes, we’d have come away with a point at worst but the grit and determination shown not only showed our professionalism but a really strong awareness of what the fans want to see. During the second half, we were one goal away from potentially turning the game on its head and had plenty of chances to do so — if not for some more clinical finishing.
The reality is that it’s zero points on the board and a 2-0 defeat, but for the most part it doesn’t feel like that and that can only give us more confidence and belief going forward.
A valuable lesson for Régis Le Bris
Le Bris doesn’t get it wrong often but in hindsight, he did.
I have no actual qualms as I credit the vision. We had a real chance to take three points at Old Trafford and as mentioned before, with some better finishing, we should’ve taken a draw at worst.
Given our current league position, I side with Le Bris that this was as good a time as any to try something different, however it was also a stark reminder that in this division — and especially away from home — you can’t go missing for thirty minutes as every team is more than capable of punishing you — as we found out the hard way.
Yet more VAR nonsense
I can’t get over how hopeless the officials were.
It was a proper “away at Manchester United” performance in terms of what we got but they dropped an absolute clanger for the game-changing moment, when Bruno Fernandes wiped out Bertrand Traore when in a goalscoring position with the goalkeeper nowhere to be seen.
In a game during which we wasted three minutes or more analysing a penalty that was clear from the first replay wouldn’t be given, it baffles me as to how the technology was found wanting when it was actually needed to be called upon.
That said, we can’t complain too much as our good-to-bad decisions ratio with VAR must be near three to one, but it doesn’t make it any less palatable when we should’ve played a third of the game against ten men — although whether that would’ve made a difference remains to be seen.
