One Sunderland man wasn’t up to his best against Plymouth Argyle, and it is abruptly clear why.
The Black Cats drew 2-2 at the Stadium of Light against Miran Muslic’s Plymouth Argyle.
Sunderland’s performance against the Pilgrims was summed up by the defensive shortcomings of Chris Mepham and Anthony Patterson in between the sticks for the Black Cats.
As well as the Black Cats’ inability to see out the win against the Championship’s bottom and most out-of-form side, there was also a lack of impact from Wilson Isidor in the final third.
Despite being ‘in form’ in recent weeks for Sunderland, he was uncharacteristically quiet against Plymouth Argyle, and the reason is obvious why.
Wilson Isidor depends on Eliezer Mayenda partnership to shine for Sunderland
When 2pm swung around on Saturday afternoon, there were plenty of surprises regarding the team selection, from Salis Abdul Samed’s surprise start, to Eliezer Mayenda’s exclusion from the 11. The latter came as a shock after he notched the sole goal in the 1-0 victory on the road against Derby County.
As a result of the Spaniard’s exclusion from the side, Sunderland striker Isidor looked rather quiet up top against Plymouth Argyle, receiving very little service.
It is clear that Isidor has thrived, as has Mayenda, when the pair are played both as strikers for Regis Le Bris’ side, and it certainly was a strange call by the French boss to opt for a defensive shape against the Championship’s worst defensive team.
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Regis Le Bris over-tinkered with team and must return to basics
Sunderland boss Le Bris deserves plenty of credit for the performances that he has gotten out of the current crop of Black Cats players, especially coming off the back of an abysmal 2023/24 campaign.
The French boss found the optimal formation for his team to thrive, particularly against lower-league opposition, which is the 4-4-2 that sees Mayenda and Isidor lead the line.
Le Bris has suggested that he needed to tweak ahead of Plymouth purely to keep his squad fit and give necessary game times to the likes of Samed. Whilst true, sacrificing Isidor’s main strength of having Mayenda to feed off and vice-versa was a mistake, and something that shouldn’t be repeated when coming up against lesser opposition.