We need to talk about Granit Xhaka's impact on Sunderland's next generation!
Sunderland drew 1-1 with Everton at the Stadium of Light on Monday night
It would have seemed scarcely credible early in this game that Sunderland would leave disappointed not to win.
But that’s how it was, even if Sunderland were fortunate that a rare late error from goalscorer and otherwise superb Granit Xhaka error went unpunished. After a sluggish start in the extreme they made all the running in the final hour of this game, almost snatching another home win when Nordi Mukiele headed wide from a promising position.
Everton will rue a huge missed chance from Thierno Barry when leading 1-0, one which would have surely put the game out of Sunderland’s side around half an hour in. Sunderland steadied and threatened thereafter, and will feel encouraged that they were able to control so much of the second half.
Chances were relatively few, but Sunderland showed another side to their game to pass and probe. It perhaps reflects how their status is changing that Everton seemed in the end relatively pleased with a point.
That this was going to be a difficult night for Sunderland, at least to begin with, was clear almost immediately from kick off, when Thierno Barry beat Dan Ballard to a swirling long ball and nodded into the path of James Garner. He smashed his half volley towards the bottom corner, and Sunderland were fortunate that it flashed just wide of Robin Roefs' post.
A low-tempo opening ten minutes or so reflected the fact that neither time was particularly keen to press the opposition defence, though it was Everton who were having the better of it. Unlike many teams playing against Sunderland this season, they were content to sit off and not make the running. Happy to let Sunderland try and play out from their back five, they waited patiently in midfield for errors. Of which there were far too many, over and over again, in a woeful first half hour.
The goal came when Sadiki lost the ball on the touchline, the midfielder adamant that he had been fouled by Barry but nothing given. Iliman Ndiaye pounced on the loose ball and drove all the way into the Sunderland box, arrowing a glorious finish into the far top corner. Roefs, rooted to his spot, had no chance.
In the fifteen minutes that followed, Sunderland were fortunate not to be played out of the game entirely. One loose pass eventually finished with Grealish cracking a low drive off the post, before another allowed him to curl a dipping cross to the back post. From a matter of yards out Barry somehow blazed over the bar. Everton's decision not to engage high up the pitch was working a treat, Sunderland unable to build any attacks through their defence.
As half time approached, that slowly began to change. Granit Xhaka enjoyed a little more possession and Sunderland began to edge up the pitch, finally applying some pressure on the Everton box. A few half chances followed, Geertruida volleying a bouncing ball over the bar before Michael Keane did well to block a shot from Isidor. Some set pieces caused some difficulties, and some mazy runs from Bertrand Traore almost yielded a good shooting opportunity. The signs were more positive for the hosts as the half-time whistle blew, but it was no coincidence that they had struggled having had 61% of the ball. It is most unusual for this side to dominate the ball like that, and it felt like a deliberate ploy from Everton. Their XG of 0.93, compared to Sunderland’s 0.35, shows how they did more with less of the ball.
Sunderland built on that strong end to the half, however, and were level inside a minute of the second half. They needed a slice of luck as Tarkowski turned a Xhaka shot that Pickford would likely have saved into his own net, but it was reward for good hold-up play from Isidor and very nice footwork from Le Fee to work the opening. Pickford then had to claw clear a Le Fee shot that deflected over Isidor as the mood inside the ground swung completely.
Though clear chances were limited, the second half resembled the game Sunderland wanted to play much more closely. They were dominating territory, and pushing Everton back with a succession of long throws and set plays. Aside from a small passage where he drew two fouls, Grealish was now seeing little of the ball and certainly not deep in Sunderland’s territory.
The chance Sunderland had been craving came with ten minutes left on the clock, Everton initially defending a corner but undone when Xhaka fired in a cross first time on the follow up. Mukiele was unmarked and left with a glorious opportunity, but couldn’t find the target with his stooping header.
Xhaka’s blushes were spared when Everton couldn’t capitalise on his slack pass and the opportunity to break passed, but for the Sunderland captain to end up on the losing side would have been harsh in the extreme. Sunderland were worthy of their point in the end, another important one in their bid for Premier League survival.
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Kyril Louis-Dreyfus on January window
There was some intrigue before ht egame, as KyrilLouis-Dreyfus gave a rare interview to Monday Night Football discussing the club’s start to the season and the January window.
He said: “To be honest we got promoted into a new league, our starting XI is almost entirely of new players so we didn't really know what to expect coming into the season but to be honest we've been very pleased with the start we've made and especially with the team,” Louis-Dreyus said.
“For us the most important thing is that the team represents the community and the values of the club and for us we think that, as in the wins and the losses we've had this year, I think the team made us proud and that's the most important thing. I think the stats showed to us that unless you do something extraordinary you're likely going to go back to the Championship. For us, we didn't really set ourselves a budget in terms of the money we want to spend - we had an ambition to try and bring in the players we want and fortunately a lot of the deals we wanted to do we were able to conclude them, and as a result of that the spend in the end was big, but most importantly we got the players that we wanted.
“I would say definitely a little bit [that the great start could affect Sunderland’s approach in January] because obviously if we're in the bottom three by Christmas or we're in the top six by Christmas that changes the ambition a little bit,” he added.
“We're currently preparing for all scenarios but we've been doing that since the summer so hopefully we'll be going into the January window with a top ten finish in mind and we will prepare and execute the transfer window to give us the best chance.”
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