Sunderland saw out a 0-0 stalemate at Norwich on Tuesday as the Black Cats stretched their unbeaten run to three games, but young duo fail to impress Regis Le Bris.
Sunderland drew 0-0 at Norwich on Tuesday evening, with Regis Le Bris’ side putting in an uncharacteristically flat display.
The Black Cats failed to create any clear cut chances, but limited the Canaries to very few of their own, with Chris Mepham the pick of the Sunderland bunch after a resolute defensive display inspiring the clean sheet.
Le Bris made several changes from Sunderland’s 1-0 win at West Brom, with Eliezer Mayenda, Milan Aleksic, Tommy Watson and Leo Hjelde replacing Wilson Isidor, Patrick Roberts, Romaine Mundle and Jobe Bellingham.
Despite the draw confirming Sunderland’s play-off certainty, the lacklustre performance failed to fill supporters with confidence ahead of the run-in, and there were some crucial lessons learned from the 0-0 bore draw at Carrow Road.
Five things we learned from Sunderland’s draw vs Norwich
Tommy Watson fails to impress amid £10m Brighton move
Amid Watson’s impending £10m move to Brighton, the youngster was thrust back into the starting XI by Le Bris, with Romaine Mundle sidelined following his hamstring injury concern against West Brom.
Le Bris was reluctant to introduce the Academy of Light graduate on Saturday in place of injured Mundle, and may be reticent to start Watson again following his poor outing at Carrow Road. Watson was withdrawn after 70 minutes and having delivered only one accurate cross all evening, it was clear to see why.
Onlookers from Brighton will not have been filled with excitement by Watson’s Norwich display ahead of his summer move, and the youngster failed to show why the Premier League outfit have shelled out such a significant fee for his services.
Dan Neil caught too often, and sloppy in possession
Dan Neil was poor throughout the affair, and was caught in possession on numerous occasions during the opening stages.
Neil’s passing accuracy was up to his usual standard, with 96%, but he failed to up the Sunderland ante with the ball at his feet. Defensively, he was no better and turned in a low 29% ground duel win rate, with Canaries ace Josh Sargent enjoying far too much room to operate between Neil and the backline.
The defensive-midfielder’s display was a far cry from Neil’s impressive performance at The Hawthorns.
Sunderland were sat far too deep without ball
Within the first 45′ especially, Sunderland were far too intent to let Norwich dominate the fixture.
Le Bris’ side enjoyed only 36% of the ball during the first half and struggled to get a foothold in the encounter. Thankfully the head coach’s instructions at the interval improved matters, with their possession jumping significantly, but they failed to profit from that regardless.
Inviting pressure has been a tactic employed by Le Bris this term, but without Mundle and Isidor’s pace on the counter attack, their willingness to drop deep was not worthwhile and contributed to the dreadful spectacle.
Jobe Bellingham’s midfield absence was a big miss
Jobe Bellingham was not in the squad to face Norwich, with Le Bris opting to be cautious over a minor injury concern with the dynamic midfielder, and his absence was more than apparent.
Neil, Chris Rigg and Alan Browne comprised the midfield three against the Canaries but Bellingham’s running power and physical presence was a massive miss for the Black Cats. Sunderland failed to get a foothold throughout the game, especially in the first-half as Norwich spurned chances to take the lead.
After impressing as a makeshift full-back against Millwall, Browne failed to stake his claim for a starting role in Sunderland’s engine room, creating only one chance and making only one successful tackle. Borussia Dortmund-linked Bellingham will likely be reintroduced once fit again given his glaring absence at Carrow Road.
Milan Aleksic looked lost on the right-wing
Forgotten man Aleksic was afforded his first outing since his substitute showing against Watford back in February, and the Serbian seriously failed to repay Le Bris’ faith by starting him from the off.
Aleksic was slammed by Sunderland fans for his display against Norwich, with the youngster achieving a miserly 56% passing accuracy and completing zero accurate crosses or successful dribbles.
Admittedly the youngster was played in a slightly unfamiliar right-wing role in place of Roberts, but failed to justify fans’ clamor to see him have more minutes.
Le Bris has promised Aleksic more gametime, and he will be in contention even more given the unfortunate injury to Mundle. However, the Serbian must perform drastically better than his 68-minute horror show at Carrow Road to force his way into Le Bris’ first-team thinking, and showcase why Sunderland shelled out £3.1m for him last summer.