Sunderland’s win against Norwich City saw Borja Sainz take centre stage for all the wrong reasons.
The Black Cats notched a third win in their last four games as Sunderland came from a goal down to win 2-1 against Norwich City.
Sunderland’s first-half display was not quite up to scratch as they went down to an Anis Ben Slimane goal that split the sides at the interval, however it was much improved in the second half.
Goals from Dan Ballard and Jobe Bellingham helped secure all three points for Regis Le Bris’ side in a game that wasn’t far from its controversies.
Norwich City attacker Borja Sainz was at the epicentre of the events, particularly in the first half, and was involved in several scuffles and incidents that did more than rile up the Sunderland faithful.
James Copley gives opinion on ‘villain’ Borja Sainz vs Sunderland
There was no denying the quality of Norwich attacker Sainz in Sunderland’s victory at the Stadium of Light, but it is safe to say that it was more than overshadowed by his antics, which included a number of occasions that saw him go down softly when coming into contact with Luke O’Nien and Chris Rigg.
The Black Cats fans were certainly not impressed by the Spaniard, nor was Sunderland journalist James Copley, who had his say on the events. Per X, he said: “Honestly, it’s a real shame Sainz did the whole pantomime villain act because there’s a bloody good player there.
“Didn’t think his antics helped his team at all yesterday.”
Sainz is Norwich City’s top scorer in the 2024/25 Championship campaign, however you can’t help but be put off by his display at the Stadium of Light, which, as Copley states, did no favours for the Canaries.
Sunderland did well to ride the wave of Borja Sainz controversy
It is clear that Sainz was sent out there to rile up the Sunderland faithful, with O’Nien being a clear target as well for the Spaniard, with the two going toe-to-toe on several occasions.
Whilst at times in the first half it looked as though Sunderland weren’t dealing with the situation in the best manner, the Black Cats’ performance in the second half showed that they had put the antics behind them, and finally found a pattern to really display their footballing excellence.
A lot of it will certainly have come down to Le Bris and his half-time team talk to reignite the fire in the belly of his side, as there are no doubts that the interval saw the pendulum swing, and by the time that Ballard found the back of the net early in the second half, Norwich were certainly on the back foot.