Phil Smith: I watched Sunderland's latest defeat and these were my key conclusions

Sunderland fell to their third Premier League defeat in a row against Brighton at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon.

Phil Smith was there reporting for The Echo and these were his key conclusions…

This felt like an afternoon in which two almost entirely different games of football took place. In the first, Sunderland and Brighton played out an even, enjoyable contest that looked as if it could go either way. Pascal Struijk’s red card with 35 minutes to play set the stage for the second, in which Brighton understandably put bodies behind the ball and played on the break. Sunderland were competitive in the first phase, and left found badly wanting in the second.

Having beaten Arsenal 3-0 just before the international break, Brighton were always going to be a tough opponent and the impressive structure out of possession that has earned so many plaudits was on show. They weren’t easy to play through and troubled the hosts with their aggressive press, but after a somewhat sluggish start Sunderland played some decent football and got into some decent areas. They will be frustrated that they didn’t turn some of those promising moves into clearer chances, and to lose Thomas Meunier to injury just as he was emerging as a big player in the game was unfortunate. On the whole, though, they were right in the game and had a platform to take something from it. If there is one persistent issue emerging from these opening six fixtures, it is that they are conceding poor goals and leaving themselves a mountain to climb.

Here they were given a big helping hand by the red card, at which point there was still over 35 minutes to play. From there the performance was impossible to defend, lacking both craft and energy. Sunderland managed just four shots from inside the Brighton box across the entirety of the game, and remarkably only one after the red card. That was a Malick Fofana effort from a narrow angle that didn’t trouble Bart Verbruggen, who had a worryingly comfortable end to the game.

Credit must go to Brighton, who were strong defensively and who looked to have some real steel and nous to their game. The body language, quality and intensity from Sunderland was nevertheless well short of what we have come to expect from this side even if the heavy workload many had over the course of the long international break has to be taken into consideration. They need to demonstrate quickly that this was a one-off.

There has very rarely been any kind of dissent from fans with Régis Le Bris’s management over the last two years, and so it feels particularly striking when it occurs. Though hardly mutinous, there were telling chants calling for the introduction of Chemsdine Talbi throughout the second half. Though Talbi’s potential summer move has clearly complicated his position in the squad behind the scenes, it is hard for fans to wonder how a player so destructive and dangerous against Hull City in the cup can’t get on the pitch when his side look as laboured as they did here. Talbi is certainly not the answer to all of Sunderland’s problems and like every winger in the squad still developing his consistency as a player, but it’s an issue that risks creating a rift between dugout and stands. Though he spoke at length about the issue on Thursday, it is perhaps a matter that needs addressing more fully.

It didn’t help that the subs Le Bris did make did not work. He explained afterwards that he had brought on Dayann Methalie and Jocelin Ta Bi as he wanted his best 1-v-1 players on the pitch, but having then gone two up front it was notable that the quality of delivery into the box was not good enough consistently. That the game ended not just with Talbi on the bench but also two of Sunderland’s best technical players in Chris Rigg and Enzo Le Fée was hard to understand.

Le Bris confirmed afterwards that Meunier had suffered a hamstring injury and though the severity is not yet clear, it would not have to be particularly serious for him to miss a number of games given the upcoming schedule. While the decision to play two defenders by trade down the right divides opinion, there is little doubt that Meunier has immediately established himself as a crucial player in the squad. Injuries were always a big worry for Sunderland this season and though Brian Brobbey and Habib Diarra should be back soon, it has already had an impact on their season.

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This always looked like a deceptively difficult start to the campaign for Sunderland, borne out by the fact that they took just one point from these six equivalent fixtures last season (swapping Burnley away for Ipswich away). Even if we extend that to the next two league games, it only rises to three points from eight. The fixtures that Sunderland were consistently picking up points from last season, at home in particular, haven’t been played yet. There are no easy fixtures at this level and it is imperative that Sunderland rediscover the defensive standards in particular that made them so difficult to beat last season, but it isn’t as simple as stating that they have regressed from last season or that results mean there is reason to panic.