Regis Le Bris suffered his first defeat as Sunderland manager on Tuesday night.
Sunderland lost 2-0 vs Preston North End on Tuesday night to bring an early end to their 2024/25 Carabao Cup run.
It’s a first defeat for Regis Le Bris, who got off to a perfect start in the Championship last weekend with a 2-0 win at Cardiff City.
Going into the game at Deepdale, Le Bris made 11 changes to the side that beat Cardiff City.
The likes of Pierre Ekwah and Chris Rigg were handed starts in midfield, whilst the back-four was very make-shift, and very shaky throughout.
Here we look at one Sunderland player who shone vs Preston, one who struggled, and one who went missing…
Chris Rigg shines for Sunderland during Preston defeat
Youngster Rigg continues to impress the Sunderland fans, and continues to give Le Bris a bit of a selection headache in the centre of midfield.
The 17-year-old came off the bench vs Cardiff but played 70 minutes against Preston, completing 29/32 passes (91% accuracy), whilst also recording one key pass and completing two out of two dribbles.
The Englishman looks set to play a starring role for Sunderland in the 2024/25 season.
Joe Anderson struggles in first appearance of 2024/25 for Sunderland
Young defender Joe Anderson played out of position at left-back vs Preston.
And all night he seemed like a weak spot in the side; he was often caught out of position and often beaten by Preston’s flying wing-back Brad Potts.
The 23-year-old Anderson recorded six defensive actions on the night; three clearances, two interceptions, one block, but no tackles, having been dribbled past more than any other Sunderland player (twice).
Abdoullah Ba goes missing for Sunderland during Preston defeat
Abdoullah Ba remains a divisive player among Sunderland fans, following what was another divisive performance for the club.
Ba started on the right flank but recorded the second-least touches of any player who started for Sunderland (40, with Nazariy Rusyn recording the fewest).
Rusyn worked hard but couldn’t get into the game, perhaps in part because Ba couldn’t create any danger down his flank.
Ba won three out of his 10 attempted duels on the night and recorded just 17 accurate passes; for context, Moore in goal recorded 22 accurate passes.
Sunderland are next in action against Sheffield Wednesday at the Stadium of Light this weekend.