Sunderland hosted Luton Town tonight in the midweek round of Championship fixtures, and the Black Cats made light work of their opponents with a comfortable victory.
After dropping points against Watford at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, Sunderland were desperate to get back to winning ways with another home tie, this time against a Luton side struggling in the relegation zone.
The Black Cats forged ahead early on as Enzo Le Fee scored his first goal since joining on loan from Roma last month, with the Frenchman curling a sublime long-range effort past Thomas Kaminski in the Luton goal.
The rest of the first half saw Trai Hume and Wilson Isidor combine to complete a goal line clearance, and a penalty shout from Sunderland that was waved away, but the score remained at 1-0 going into the interval.
A slow and steady start to the second half eventually led to a second for the Black Cats, with Isidor applying a neat first-time finish to convert a loose ball in the box.
The game was over as a contest by then, but we kept on watching until the final whistle (of course) and came up with a comprehensive collection of Sunderland player ratings from the win.
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Sunderland player ratings vs Luton
A really dominant display from Sunderland means that just about every player gets a positive rating from us for this win. The goalscorers stand out, naturally, but one defender also picked up a top score, too.
Anthony Patterson – 7
Pulled off a huge save to deny Carlton Morris before the goal line scramble. Had very little else to do after that thanks to the defenders in front of him.
Trai Hume – 8
Great effort to block Millenic Alli’s sloppy strike. Also claims the assist for Le Fee after a nice bursting run into midfield. Continued his spell of great form in style.
Dan Ballard – 7
A solid return to the starting lineup for the big man at the back. Carried the ball out of defence regularly with good composure. Put in a few tidy tackles to nullify Luton’s threat.
Luke O’Nien – 7
Similar to Ballard, didn’t put a foot wrong in defence. Put in plenty of strong challenges when called upon. Nice and scrappy from the Sunderland veteran.
Dennis Cirkin – 6
Got forward well and should have had a goal early on. Some tidy footwork and composure at the back to drive out of defence with the ball, too. Faded out of the game as time went on, though.
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Dan Neil – 7
Nothing spectacular from the skipper. Covered plenty of ground, did the dirty work in the middle of the park, and completed lots of simple yet effective passes to help Sunderland transition from defence to attack.
Jobe Bellingham – 6
A really quiet night for Bellingham on his return from injury. Some nice touches and clever passes from time to time, but it’s clear he wasn’t quite at 100% sharpness.
Chris Rigg – 7
Worked his socks off in the middle of the park, battling for every ball in central areas, as well as supporting the press from the front and trying to make things happen in forward areas.
Patrick Roberts – 6
Didn’t necessarily do anything wrong, but struggled to impact the game, largely due to poor deliveries into the box and sub-par decision-making.
Enzo Le Fee – 8
Showed his class with that wonderful goal early on, and continued to dictate the flow of play for Sunderland throughout from the left-hand side. Le Fee was at the heart of everything for Sunderland – the amount of touches of the ball he registered throughout says it all.
Wilson Isidor – 8
A hard-working display from the frontman, capped by a really well-taken goal. Chased every ball, pressed with intensity; it’s so easy to see why Sunderland fans love him.
Substitutes
Just the two changes for Le Bris tonight, with Mayenda replacing Rigg, who potentially picked up a bit of a knock after a firm challenge, and Salis Abdul Samed on for Isidor late on to shore up the midfield.
Eliezer Mayenda – 6
Replaced Chris Rigg with 15 minutes to go. Put in a decent shift, but service to the forward areas had already begun to slow down by the time he entered the fray.
Salis Abdul Samed – N/A
On for Isidor with five minutes left. Barely any time to affect the game.