Regis Le Bris claimed a 2-0 win in his opening game as Sunderland manager.
Regis Le Bris will have been nervy heading to Cardiff City in his opening game as Sunderland manager on Saturday.
But the Frenchman claimed a very astute 2-0 win with goals coming from Luke O’Nien and Jack Clarke.
Sunderland fans were impressed by Dennis Cirkin upon his return to the XI after he spent much of last season on the sidelines.
Elsewhere, Eliezer Mayenda earned praise for his work-rate, despite what was an overall tough performance for the Spaniard who led the line at Cardiff.
There were decent player performances across the pitch, even if it wasn’t the best Sunderland display we’ve seen since their return to the Championship in 2022.
The Sunderland owners will be delighted to see Le Bris get off to a winning start, and indeed the Sunderland fans are too.
And along with Cirkin, another Sunderland man stood out against Cardiff.
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Luke O’Nien praised after Cardiff City 0-2 Sunderland
O’Nien was quite a divisive figure among Sunderland fans last season.
He featured 43 times in the Championship, playing at centre-back, and starting at centre-back vs Cardiff alongside Aji Alese, who stepped in for the injured Dan Ballard.
The 29-year-old O’Nien made the joint-most defensive actions of any player on the pitch (seven), including the most clearances (five), along with two interceptions.
The Englishman also had the second-most touches of any Sunderland player (51), completing 31/39 passes.
Sunderland Echo gave O’Nien an 8/10 rating with Phil Smith writing: “One or two nervy moments but generally defended very well against his opposite number and took his goal nicely.
“Can’t ask for much more than that.”
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It’s not just experience that’s vital for Sunderland after Cardiff City win
Sunderland desperately lacked Championship experience last season, but they’ve since added some in their summer transfer haul.
But along with experience, Sunderland also need players like O’Nien who’ve played for the club a long time, and truly value the club.
Sunderland now have a few players like O’Nien, Dan Neil, Anthony Patterson and a growing number, who’ve played a lot of games for Sunderland.
O’Nien is now Sunderland club captain with Sunderland making Neil team captain earlier this week.
O’Nien continues to show his leadership qualities on the pitch and against Cardiff he reminded everyone of his technical abilities, and his defensive abilities which have really come along in the past year.
Sunderland are next in action against Preston North End in the Carabao Cup next week.