Sunderland’s home return couldn’t have gone any better as they thrashed Sheffield Wednesday.
The Black Cats were looking for revenge after suffering defeat to Sheffield Wednesday the last time they played at the Stadium of Light.
The Owls arrived on Wearside in high spirits though, having hammered Plymouth Argyle on the opening day.
Sunderland fans will have felt sceptical ahead of today’s fixture, but it didn’t take the team very long to earn their confidence back.
Dennis Cirkin opened the scoring early on, with Sunderland putting together another well-worked free-kick for the left-back to nod in. With a similar goal scored against Cardiff last time out, it is clear that Regis Le Bris has made set-pieces a priority in training.
Eliezer Mayenda then pounced on a mistake from the Owls to net a rocket on the edge of the box, before Luke O’Nien claimed his second goal in as many games.
Mayenda then claimed his brace just minutes into the second half, rounding off a comfortable victory for the hosts.
The Black Cats now sit second in the Championship after a stellar performance, with every player putting in an impressive shift on Wearside.
Here is how the Sunderland players rated –
Anthony Patterson – 7
Patto had a fairly quiet afternoon on Wearside – which he probably didn’t expect. Had a few saves to make early on, but otherwise went untroubled.
Trai Hume – 7
Hume kept Anthony Musaba very quiet, but didn’t have a great deal to do either. The Northern Ireland international made five tackles on what was a very comfortable afternoon for him.
Luke O’Nien – 8
O’Nien continued his brilliant start to the new campaign as he made it two goals in two games, as well as (technically) picking up an assist for Mayenda’s first.
The defender was key to a second consecutive clean sheet – winning three headers and making three clearances.
Dennis Cirkin – 8
Cirkin was involved heavily in both of Sunderland’s free-kick goals over the last couple of weeks, this time scoring the Black Cats’ opener. The left-back has been brilliant since returning and the left-side of the team looks so much better with him in it.
Jobe Bellingham – 9
It was another mature, comfortable display from Jobe, who looks like he has made huge strides since last season. The youngster is back in his natural position and is thriving there.
Jobe enjoyed 86% passing accuracy, made four clearances, two blocks and four tackles.
Dan Neil – 8
Neil has taken the responsibilities of the captaincy completely in his stride, putting on another leader’s performance at the SoL.
The midfielder should arguably have got an assist as he put Mayenda through for his third in the second half, but the referee was naive enough to gift Wednesday a free-kick following a dive.
Chris Rigg – 9
Rigg was given the chance to impress following injury to Alan Browne and he certainly took it. The 17-year-old helped run the midfield and absolutely dominated Barry Bannan – who is double his age.
Jack Clarke – 9
Clarke looks so comfortable in Championship football, putting on another exceptional performance in red and white today.
The winger picked up his first assist and proved to be a major handful all afternoon – making three key passes, winning 100% of his dribbles and winning five free-kicks.
Patrick Roberts – 8
Roberts has looked so much better than he did last season over the last couple of games, really establishing himself as key player for Sunderland once again.
The 27-year-old made two key passes, had three shots and completed 91% of his passes.
Eliezer Mayenda – 9
Sunderland fans will be absolutely delighted for Mayenda, who looked very likely to be replaced before deadline day.
The striker looked very comfortable after an encouraging debut last time out, netting a brace – one of which was much harder than the other.
The Spaniard only made 17 touches but was pivotal to a huge win, while he also made three tackles.