Sunderland fell to their first Stadium of Light defeat of the season on Wednesday, losing 1-0 to Premier League champions Liverpool.
Arne Slot‘s side have struggled this season, but they proved too much for the Black Cats, who remain on course for a comfortable finish to their first season back in the big time, 12 points ahead of 18th-place West Ham United.
Though Sunderland can’t expect to avoid defeat every time they play, there’s no question that Regis Le Bris will be disappointed with his side’s lack of fluency – fluency that has been almost ever-present throughout the campaign.
However, the Frenchman got it wrong on the tactical board this time.
How Sunderland lost to Liverpool
Ibrahima Konate and Brian Brobbey waged a battle of physicality in Liverpool’s defensive third, the French centre-back just about edging the tussles with Sunderland’s powerful centre-forward.
Brobbey, 24, had chances to score but he didn’t make them count, and having lost nine of his ten contested aerial battles, it’s clear to see how the visitors negated Le Bris’ threat.
In many ways, it just felt like one of those days, with the Reds having looked so shaky at the back this season but not at the Stadium of Light. However, there were aspects of the game that Sunderland failed to control when they should have.
For example, Liverpool won 57% of their duels and 83% of their tackles, whereas the hosts only won 21% of their tackles in a frustrating illustration of defensive deficiency.
Le Bris will want to swiftly prove that one stands as an outlier, but do to do, he may need to end an experiment that bore no fruit against the Merseysiders.
Sunderland star struggles in different role
Since the start of the season, Noah Sadiki has been a revelation in the centre of the park for Sunderland. The newly-promoted side welcomed him last summer, 20 at the time, from Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium.
Having played a central role for Sunderland throughout the campaign, Sadiki, now 21, has established himself as one of the most interesting prospects in the country, with Manchester United sniffing around for the £50m-rated prospect before Christmas.
Sadiki has been immense this season. It is no coincidence that Sunderland endured a five-match winless run as the mifielder took a leave of absence for AFCON.
However, even with Granit Xhaka still a few weeks away from bouncing back from injury, Sadiki cannot play at number six again, with the Liverpool loss illustrating that.
|
Noah Sadiki vs Liverpool |
|
|---|---|
|
Stats |
# |
|
Minutes played |
90′ |
|
Touches |
56 |
|
Accurate passes |
42/44 (95%) |
|
Chances created |
1 |
|
Crosses |
0/1 |
|
Dribbles |
0/1 |
|
Tackles won |
0/1 |
|
Duels won |
2/5 |
|
Dribbled past |
2x |
|
Data via Sofascore |
|
Sadiki failed his his one attempted dribble (though he did complete 13 carries) and lost 60% of his ground battles, contributing toward the crucial central battle that Liverpool ended up winning.
The Sunderland Echo’s Phil Smith acknowledged that it wasn’t a disastrous display by any stretch, but that Sadiki’s role as a deep-lying anchor precludes the kind of athletic, powerhouse performances that has earned such plaudits so far this season. The DR Congo international was given a 5/10 match rating.
This is not a slight against the player. Sadiki’s energy and intensity are perhaps his biggest weapons, and these attributes cannot be best utilised in a deep berth.
Until Xhaka returns, perhaps Lutsharel Geertruida should be deployed as the number six.
After all, Sunderland missed Sadiki’s running and ability to make a nuisance of himself against Liverpool. Given that he was on the field, there’s only one logical solution for Le Bris to put things to rights.
Sunderland may have just signed their new Amad Diallo
Sunderland may have found their next Amad Diallo in this star who is a joy to watch play football.
