Great performance by everyone in a red and white shirt today.
Goalkeeper: A rock. Did Roefs have a shot to save? His distribution was excellent, although he was nearly caught out by Dorgu in the second half. He looked calm and collected in everything he did.
Defence: Impeccable and Impenetrable. Looked comfortable in possession and used the ball well. Centre backs had Zirkzee in their pocket. Reinildo kept Amad quiet and Gerty never looked in danger and was so close to giving us the lead. Defended set pieces much better today than we have recently.
Midfield: Majestic. The midfield 3 were absolutely marvellous today. Controlled the tempo, created opportunities for themselves and the front three. One of the best midfield performances that I've seen by any team in a red and white shirt and I've been going since 1968/9.
Front 3: A handful. Gave United lots of things to think about. Hume was solid defensively and helped Gerty deal with any potential danger on their left. Talbi tried to beat his man a few times. It didn't always come off, but I'd rather see him trying to cause them problems by running at them than doing a 'John Oster' and running sideways across the pitch before passing back. His excellent tracking back helped Reinildo too. Angulo looked lively when he came on and looks a good bet for next season.
Brobbey ran his socks off and nearly broke through. He was up against two experienced central defenders and a bloke in a blue shirt who gave him no decisions in his favour, but plenty against him.
The referee and VAR: An absolute disgrace. Since I got back from the match, I've seen a still of one of the handballs. If the defenders hand was a pointer on a clock, it would be pointing to the number 8, definitely not by his side. Also, the decision to award a free kick to Shaw when he was all over Brobbey and not even looking at the ball was astonishing, and dare I say 'bent.'
Overall, an excellent performance and plenty of room for thought for the recruitment team. Hume is definitely a very capable defender and when he plays in midfield he gives us solidity. However, he broke twice in the second half and delivered poor passes at the end of it. What we probably need for next season is someone as solid defensively as Hume, but who can also pick a pass like Xhaka or Le Fee. Over to you Flo.
The crowd: Backed the players brilliantly and they responded in kind. I heard singing from all sections of the crowd and a good percentage stayed until the final whistle.
Thoroughly enjoyed the day out and a massive thanks to Regis and the team for providing excellent entertainment and making us proud to be Sunderland fans
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