Sunderland centre-forward Brian Brobbey's use of physicality went against him against Fulham, as the attacker gave away a penalty in the loss on Sunday.
The summer signing from Ajax has been a battering ram up front for the Black Cats throughout the Premier League campaign, using his raw physical attributes to bully defenders and lead the line brilliantly for Regis Le Bris.
Unfortunately, though, Brobbey opted to keep hold of Calvin Bassey whilst defending a set-piece by holding onto the centre-back's shirt, which was penalised after a VAR check, allowing Raul Jimenez to score from the spot.
raul-jimenez-fulham
The Dutchman, though, did create a 'big chance' for his side, one of the three that the team created, and only lost possession four times in his 70 minutes on the pitch.
Despite the penalty and the fact that he came away from the game without a goal or an assist to show for his efforts, it was not a horrendous performance from the attacker.
Sunderland player ratings vs Fulham
Brobbey was not the worst performer on the pitch for the Black Cats because there were several other players who failed to deliver impressive performances.
Robin Roefs, for example, conceded three goals from four shots on target and may feel that he could have done more for the first and third goals, particularly the third as Alex Iwobi was able to lift the ball over the goalkeeper.
robin-roefs-sunderland
The only starter who cannot be rated very fairly is Nordi Mukiele after he was substituted with an injury in the 12th minute. Lutsharel Geertruida came on to replace him and put in a 5/10 display, with no major errors in his defensive work.
|Rating Sunderland's starters vs Fulham|
|Player|Rating|
|---|
|Roefs|4/10|
|Mukiele|N/A|
|Ballard|5/10|
|Alderete|4/10|
|Hume|5/10|
|Sadiki|6/10|
|Diarra|4/10|
|Le Fee|7/10|
|Ta Bi|5/10|
|Brobbey|5/10|
|Angulo|4/10|
Omar Alderete, meanwhile, did have a game to forget at centre-back. The former Getafe star failed to win a single ground duel or tackle in 90 minutes on the pitch.
Further up the pitch, Habib Diarra struggled with the ball at his feet at the Stadium of Light. The Senegal international only completed 65% of his attempted passes and ended the game with zero chances created and zero dribbles attempted.
Now, with a trip to the south coast to take on Bournemouth in the Premier League on the horizon, Regis Le Bris must drop one of the team's underperformers who was worse than Brobbey.
Sunderland flop should be dropped against Bournemouth
The Black Cats boss should keep Brobbey in the team against the Cherries because of the focal point that he provides for the team with his running power and strength in the centre-forward position.
brian-brobbey-sunderland-premier-league
Nilson Angulo, however, should be dropped from the side for the trip to the Vitality because he put in an underwhelming performance on the left flank for Sunderland.
The winter signing from Anderlecht had a huge change to get on the scoresheet for the first time in English football when he had a free shot on the right side of the box with his favoured right foot, but he failed to hit the target to test Bernd Leno.
nilson-angulo-sunderland
Angulo is still adjusting to English football and there may well be more matches like this where he struggles with the physicality or the intensity of the league, which is understandable for a young player in this league for the first time.
These are important lessons for him to learn so that he can improve and get better in the future, which is why his disappointing performance should not be seen solely as a negative.
Vs Fulham Angulo
Minutes 70
Big chances missed 1
Key passes 0
Big chances created 0
Crosses completed 0/2
Dribbles completed 1/3
Duels won 1/9
Dribbled past 2x
Angulo struggled with the physicality of the game against Fulham, losing 89% of his duels, but his lack of quality in possession was also a cause for concern, missing that 'big chance' and failing to create any chances for his teammates.
Furthermore, his lack of influence on proceedings was felt by a lack of touches, amassing 26 which was even fewer than Roefs between the sticks. The Black Cats stopper, for context, registered 54.
He was even worse than Brobbey because the Sunderland striker created a 'big chance' for his side and won half (2/4) of his ground duels, without missing a 'big chance', which shows that he contributed more to the side overall.
Now, Le Bris should drop the left winger from the team to bring Chemsdine Talbi back into the XI, as the Morocco international has shown moments of quality in the Premier League this season, scoring three goals and providing one assist in 11 starts.
Hopefully, Angulo can then use that as motivation to come off the bench and prove the manager wrong for dropping him with an impressive cameo against Bournemouth, showing that he learned from his struggles against Fulham.
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