Sunderland stunned Swansea City in the Championship on Saturday, mounting a second half comeback from two goals down to eventually win 3-2.
Sunderland had a nightmare start to their game against Swansea City in the Championship on Saturday afternoon, finding themselves two goals behind after just 17 minutes.
Sunderland summer transfer target Zan Vipotnik capitalised in some lax Sunderland defending for the first Swansea goal, before Liam Cullen scored with a stunning free kick.
Dan Ballard then headed home after 28 minutes and after the break, Sunderland looked much better. They dominated the first 20 minutes of the second half and after 73 minutes were back on level terms, owing to a stunning strike from range from skipper Dan Neil.
Minutes later, Jobe Bellingham burst into the box to score a stunning third for the Black Cats, who held on for a huge win on the road.
Sunderland player ratings vs Swansea City
Anthony Patterson – 5/10
Looking back, he’ll be gutted with that early Swansea goal. Should’ve come to collect. Made a good save minutes later and steadied as the game went on. Made some stray passes in what was a performance to put behind him.
Dennis Cirkin – 5/10
Back in the XI and had a lot of defending to do early on. Didn’t look nearly as good as he’s been so far this season but that may be forgiven after surgery on a broken wrist, and several weeks without starting a game.
Dan Ballard – 6/10
Skewed header for Swansea’s opener and then lost possession inside his own half minutes later. But he took his goal well and looked much more solid and settled after the break.
Chris Mepham – 6/10
Handful of key interventions for Sunderland. Nice long ball for a good chance for Wilson Isidor, too. Didn’t have much defending to do himself in the second half.
Trai Hume – 6/10
Didn’t look his usual formidable and composed self in the opening stages. Tried to get forward and link up with Patrick Roberts but seemed to be uninvolved for most of the game.
Dan Neil – 7/10
Kept things ticking over nicely in midfield, albeit without doing anything overly exciting. Stepped up when his side needed it most with a stunning goal from range in the second half.
Chris Rigg – 8/10
Battled really well in the midfield at times. Some good touches and little passes on the halfway line, arguably being Sunderland’s best performer on the day. Nice assist for Bellingham’s goal.
Eliezer Mayenda – 6/10
Couple of lively moments from the Spaniard but he looked a bit out of place on the left at times. To his credit, he worked relentlessly even when the game was dying, making a couple of chances for himself.
Jobe Bellingham – 6/10
Powerful in the opening stages with a couple of strong runs forward. Gave away a needless free-kick for Swansea’s second though, and looked bit clumsy in possession at times. But like Neil, he also stepped up when Sunderland needed someone too. Bellingham burst into the box and put Sunderland 3-2 in front.
Patrick Roberts – 6/10
Didn’t see a whole lot of the ball. Looked to get forward when he did get possession though, with a couple of nice runs in the first half. Game passed him by for the most part.
Wilson Isidor – 7/10
One of Sunderland’s tidier players early on but looked as though he tired quickly in the first half. Livelier after the break and got in behind Swansea a couple of times. Overall played quite well with some nice link up play and runs.
Luke O’Nien – 5/10
Really didn’t see much of the ball when he came on. Didn’t do anything wrong.