Tricky one this - firstly because other than Olly I don't think any of us lot were there, and also because you almost need to give a different mark for each half......but, here goes..... Boruc - 5.5 - Could possibly have done better on both goals, but good to see the starfish save later. Not his best for us. Shaw - 7.5 - Looked a threat going forward and even conjured a couple of shots on target. Had Johnson under control other than for the vital moments. Lovren - 8 - Excellent goal and as usual a dominant display. Fingers crossed the injury isn't too bad as he's critical for us. Fonte - 7 - Played well, had a header on goal, looked steady as usual alongside Lovren. Chambers - 6 - Bit of a curates egg today. Made some defensive errors, yet looked more positive going forward than normal Schneiderlin - 5.5 - Possibly harsh, but I really thought Morgan was unusually poor overall today and was caught on the ball dangerously in our half - the sort of mistake that Big Vic has been castigated for on here Cork - 9 - Dictated the passing play. An excellent performance just before he likely gets replaced by a fit again Wanyama! Davis - 6 - A little bit anonymous in parts, but a couple of positive surging runs. Lallana - 6.5 - All the skill that we know he has but I didn't think he really threatened today as much as recent games. Rodriguez - 7.5 - Took his goal superbly and looked most likely of our strikers to add to that. Lambert - 5.5 - A little improved from recent performances, but again a shadow of the force that he has been. Osvaldo looms large. Subs - Ramirez - 7 - We *should* be eulogising a hugely effective subsitution by Poch and a contender for goal of the month. Instead we're bemoaning what looks a horrid injury. The lad really has no luck here - once again he looked to be providing the type of threat we needed when he came one. Once again an injury has stilted his progress at the club. Get well soon Gaston. Yoshida - 6 - not on long enough to really give a representative mark, but did nothing wrong. JWP - 6 - as with Yoshi.
Chambers wasn't great today. Lots of effort but nothing he did really came off. Rodriguez scored a good goal but missed too many good chances as well. So I'd probably rank those two lower. And what's with these half marks?
Rickie wasn't that bad. First half he was lively and very effective, but faded with most players late on. Cork definitely MOTM, awesome.
Haha, not sure really. I think it's me trying not to be too harsh, and softening the blow with a 0.5.....
I've been mentally dabating Cork's performance. I love him, so bear with me while I try to be objective. He looked great today but I really do think that part of it was that Sunderland basically appeared to leave him alone. He was receiving the ball, looking round, reading the paper, looking around again, making a cup of tea, drinking it, then passing. I don't know if it was just that he was making excellent space and time for himself or whether he was just not being marked. I've thought about it so much that I've confused myself. Opinions? Vin
Think there's some truth in that Vin, but he also looked our best player in the second half which was more pressing, in every sense of the word.
Cork excellent today, easily our best player. Top effort from Lallana and Rodriguez as well. Davis put in a good shift too. Schneiderlin was unusually poor and Lambert made little impact once again - wouldn't surprise me if he has been carrying an injury recently. Sent from my RM-914_eu_euro1_337 using Tapatalk
Schneiderlin won every aerial duel (5/5), winning one led to him getting an assist to Rodriguez. He made more tackles than any of our players. Three key passes and 91% passing completion. This deserves a 5.5 rating does it
I didn't think he had a particularly good game from what I saw, but the stats would seem to disagree. Okay, maybe I was wrong.
Maybe Chambers was just considered the better option. Altidore's height against Clyne might have been considered potentially problematic for us I guess.
Worst player was probably Boruc, but can't be too harsh on him. The first goal got tucked away perfectly into the corner and the player had way too much room. That one is on Chambers. The second one he could have done better but it was a rocket at a time where I don't think he expected the player to shoot. It was a mistake, but not an awful one. Definitely not one of his better games, but I wouldn't classify it as horrible. I think 5.5 or 6-ish is about right. Best player was probably Cork, but would agree it was less a case of him bossing the midfield than Sunderland not trying to stop him. I would give him maybe a 7.5. 7's for Rodriguez and Lovren. Somewhere between 6 and 7 for everyone else.
I respectfully disagree. A goalkeeper who isn't expecting a shot shouldn't be on the pitch, and that was an awful goal to concede.
I thought Ramirez was superb when he came on. Such a shame it ended the way it did. Beginning to see Cork and Wanyama as top two dms now. Not impressed with Schneiderlin back there.
4? Silly that. I've watched that goal a lot and yes, he could have saved it but it wasn't that bad. He was commanding in the first half, though little to do and then still made a couple of good saves in the second half. Yours is a typical fans reaction to a goal conceded. It really wasn't that bad. Hit like a rocket and moving through the air. Not bad enough to give him a four. One mistake and forget anything else.
I also think he could have saved the first goal. And he should have saved the second goal, not could have. There wasn't much swerve on the ball. All he had to do was tip it over the bar.
Sounds like an armchair fans opinion to me. He should have saved it but it was not as bad as people are making out, in my opinion. The line about a keeper shouldn't be on a pitch really is a little daft and dramatic. So many examples of keepers getting caught out surprised by a shot.
