Eliezer Mayenda made only his second start since joining Sunderland last summer.
The striker was one of several teenagers that arrived in Sunderland in what proved to be a largely unsuccessful transfer window.
Mayenda managed only eight appearances in the Championship before he was sent to Hibernian on loan, where he failed to make a single start.
The youngster impressed Regis Le Bris during preseason though and earned himself a place in the starting line-up for yesterday’s opener against Cardiff City.
Sofascore gave Mayenda the lowest score of any player on the pitch (6.3), having had 13 touches, three shots, lost 100% of his duels and was caught offside once.
The Spaniard’s most memorable moment was when he found himself through one-on-one with the Cardiff shot-stopper and should have scored, but Ethan Horvath pulled off an impressive save to keep it at 1-0.
Mayenda could well be forced to the bench now after failing to impress, almost replicating Luis Hemir’s start to life on Wearside last season.
The Benfica academy graduate endured a very poor debut on the opening day and didn’t make another start for another seven months.
Mayenda made a much bigger impact than Hemir on his debut
The Sunderland Echo claimed Mayenda really ‘struggled to make an impact’ in Wales and certainly proved the Black Cats’ desperate need to bring in a proven goalscorer.
However, despite not being ready to start games in the Championship, he did prove one thing for himself and that is that he is miles ahead of Hemir.
The 19-year-old looked so raw and his decision-making was definitely questionable, but his movement, eagerness to find the back of the net and his speed makes him so much more promising than his Portuguese teammate.
Hemir was gifted his first taste of senior football by Sunderland, yet played like he wasn’t interested at all. The forward had something to prove last season but never really seemed to get out of first gear, and the more he did it, it really begged the question as to whether ‘first gear’ was the only gear he was capable of.
Fans didn’t really see much improvement at all in Hemir and he never really looked like scoring at all. However, it does feel like Mayenda would score a few goals if he stayed in the first-team picture this term, while he does seem keen to make an impact and improve under Le Bris.
Who will Sunderland send out on loan this summer?
Hemir was an unused substitute yesterday and it seems very likely that he will go out on loan, while it does seem clear that Mayenda could benefit from one too.
The Wearside outfit will have to bring in two forwards if they both left though, so the latter could end up occupying a space on the bench.
The promise he showed against Cardiff will be a huge relief to supporters and hopefully they can see him enjoy some impressive cameos this season, while it would actually be quite surprising if Hemir’s move to the Stadium of Light ever becomes successful.