Sunderland fell to a 3-1 defeat against Marco Silva’s Fulham on Sunday afternoon
Sunderland suffered their third Premier League defeat in a row as they were beaten 3-1 by Fulham at the Stadium of Light on Sunday afternoon.
Phil Smith was there for The Echo and these were his key conclusions...
Sunderland's intensity has dipped - and it is costing them dearly
Two things can be true at once when it comes to this game: Had Romaine Mundle scored in Sunderland's best spell of the game after half time, when they played with intensity and pushed Fulham back, they might well have gone to take all three points. And yet over the course of 90 minutes, Fulham were clearly the deserving winners. For the second time this season, they were the more composed of the two sides and ultimately the more clinical. This is in itself no great surprise, they have years more experience at this level and that also means a significantly bigger budget that in turn equals a deeper and stronger squad.
There remains a gulf here, especially when Granit Xhaka is fit enough only to come on from the bench, that should guide any analysis of the game. Even so, it's fair to say that Sunderland have dipped and that this performance fell short. The first half especially was lacklustre, even accounting for the loss of rhythm that came from a succession of injuries across both teams. Le Bris laid bare his frustration with the performance afterwards, and made no attempt to suggest that his team are playing as well as they did in the first half of the season. The Sunderland head coach knows he has a lot of work to do - the intensity of the team has dropped and the brutal reality is that at this stage, they are not good enough to win games without it. The Black Cats thrived on the adrenaline and momentum of their promotion in the early months of the season, consistently coming out on the right side of tight games due primarily to how strong they were at defending their own box. Whether it be through fatigue or a natural dip in adrenaline deep into the campaign, Sunderland are conceding the kinds of goals we just didn't see in the early stages of the season. Set pieces, a strength in the early part of the season, have become an issue at both ends of the pitch. They have never been a particularly free-flowing side going forward, either this season or last, and so at the moment it makes for a pretty uninspiring combination. To put it bluntly: Gravity has caught up with Sunderland.
Perspective is required in terms of the three-game losing run - just about any team in this league could come away from a sequence of Arsenal, Liverpool and Fulham with at least two defeats. Any assessment of performance and form should also recognise that Sunderland remain in a position most could only have dreamed of at the start of the campaign.
Nevertheless, Sunderland have to improve and fast. Le Bris believes his team have more quality to offer on the ball and that they are struggling physically compared to the early weeks of the campaign, making them vulnerable to the second balls that were at one stage their strength. If that continues, Sunderland will lose more games to teams of this experience and quality.
Things could get worse before they get better
Having already lost Dennis Cirkin and Reinildo to injury before the game, Le Bris's concerns grew significantly over the course of the game. Forced to bring off Nordi Mukiele and Jocelin Ta Bi in the first half due to injury, the Sunderland head coach revealed after the game that he had additional concerns over Brian Brobbey and Romaine Mundle. While the severity of these issues is at this stage are not known, it's far form ideal preparation heading into two very tough away games against Bournemouth and Leeds: The Black Cats have not been particularly convincing on the road this season even with a nearly fully-fit squad. Le bris is facing his trickiest moment of the season and there's every possibility that things get worse before they get better.
It's not all bad news, Xhaka's return is massive not just in what he brings to the side with his passing range at the base of midfield but because he frees up Noah Sadiki to bring more intensity to Sunderland further up the pitch. Bertrand Traoré could also return to full training this week, and his experience and craft could be crucial in helping the side to navigate what has become a difficult spell of the campaign.
Le Bris struggling to find the solution in attacking areas
A key part of Sunderland's game plan for a number of years now has been to work the ball quickly into the wide areas where their wide players can then hopefully thrive in 1-v-1 situations. The issue for Le Bris and Sunderland is that when they do this, they're asking young players learning about the level to create something against often very experienced defenders. The challenge is all the more acute because with Sunderland having to cede possession to strong sides for large parts of games, those wingers are using a lot of energy in their defensive duties.
Through a longer lens, you could take some positives from Sunday's game. Nilson Angulo was tenacious, a threat and showed a lot of promise. While understandably a little more erratic, Jocelin Ta Bi also showed his talent in his ultimately too-brief full debut. In the shorter term, the reality is that Sunderland are operating with inexperienced players in a crucial part of the pitch for the way that they play. They and the club will be better for this experience and tricky spell, while the return of Traoré will help alongside Xhaka's ability to manage attacks from deep. As Le Bris bids to turn around this mini slump, however, it's clear he needs to find some solutions.
Dennis Cirkin's absence underlines uncertainty over long-term future
It's very possible that Le Bris would have opted to play Trai Hume at left back regardless, but Dennis Cirkin's absence from the squad when the team news dropped represented another setback for the talented youngster. Le Bris subsequently confirmed an injury issue, adding new context to his words in the pre-match press conference on Friday, in which he praised Cirkin's progress but said it was important to see a level of consistency over a longer period.
Thankfully, Le Bris said this particular injury is not that serious and Cirkin was able to join his team mates at the stadium on Sunday to watch the game. Perhaps this is simply one small step back before the defender can take a more decisive step forward, but it underlines why all parties have been keen not to rush into a decision on a new contract. At the moment, it's just not straightforward to determine what the future holds either from a club or a player perspective. Cirkin will be eager to get back as soon as possible, as even if it's from the bench there should be opportunities to impress in Reinildo's absence. Cirkin has shown his talent since returning from injury in December and that he can be a Premier League player, the challenge is being able to prove it week in, week out.
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