Talking Points: Blades blunted as Sunderland reaffirm their promotion credentials!
01/02/2025 01:00 AM
The Lads rang in the New Year with a superb victory over Chris Wilder's visitors on Wednesday night. Phil West looks at the game's main stories
Sunderland crank up the intensity to devastating effect
After the frustration of conceding a late equaliser against Blackburn Rovers on Boxing Day and stumbling to a scruffy defeat at Stoke last time out, the visit of perennial Championship promotion-chasers Sheffield United felt like a daunting assignment with which to kickstart a new year on Wearside.
As the temperatures plummeted and the pressure to keep pace at the top of the table increased, Sunderland needed to find the spark and the fortitude to bounce back following defeat to the Potters, and that's exactly what they did.
This was a tremendous display from Régis Le Bris' side, and in a full-throttle, high-quality exhibition of Championship football between two superb teams, Sunderland showed that their knack of hitting back from defeats with victory next time out remains very much intact.
From the boundless energy demonstrated by Eliezer Mayenda to terrier-like displays from Patrick Roberts and Adil Aouchiche, colossal performances from Jobe and Dan Neil, not to mention a sterling display from Aji Alese at left back, Sunderland gave a packed Stadium of Light crowd a real New Year treat as we capitalised on favourable results elsewhere to move to within five points of the summit.
Even the concession of a penalty that was well saved by Anthony Patterson and a messy own goal couldn't prevent the Lads from preserving what's becoming a truly imposing home record.
The maturity, guile and composure we showed in order to close this game out was highly encouraging, and everyone can rightly take pride in a victory that was hard earned and fully deserved.
Striking performances from Sunderland's frontmen
Earlier this week, I wrote an article in which I claimed that Eliezer Mayenda needed to be taken out of the firing line after two poor misses, and that Wilson Isidor was essentially too much of an 'either/or'-type of centre forward.
I wrote the piece with full conviction, albeit aware there was a chance I'd be made to look foolish at some stage, and it took a grand total of two days for my argument to be reduced to rubble- and to my immense pleasure!
Mayenda's goal showed just how much heart and resilience he possesses as he broke away to slide the ball home for a 1-0 Sunderland lead, and Isidor's strike was yet another elite demonstration of finishing as he beat Michael Cooper from a tight angle after a sharp burst of pace.
Le Bris deserves immense credit for keeping faith with Mayenda, and the Spaniard himself should view this as one of his finest displays in a Sunderland shirt. His pace, movement, and awareness kept the visiting defence on their toes all evening, and his goal should do his confidence the world of good after his travails against Stoke and Blackburn.
As for Isidor? He's simply one of the most entertaining and endearingly unpredictable strikers I've ever had the pleasure of watching in a Sunderland shirt.
At any given moment, he might look as though he's not really in the game and that he's getting frustrated, but in an instant, he can conjure something magical to break a game wide open, and this was another classic example.
Will we sign him permanently in the summer? Rumours of 'obligations to buy' abound, and the romantic in me says we should. Indeed, he should be on course for an eye-catching 2024/2025 goal return if he can continue to find the net in such a classy manner.
Adil Aouchiche's stock continues to rise
He may be somewhat unpredictable and it's fair to say that he's been a peripheral figure this season, but I've been a huge fan of the mercurial Frenchman ever since his arrival on Wearside in the summer of 2023.
Furthermore, I've long felt that if given an extended run in the team, his flair, eye for a pass and game-changing ability could give us an added dimension in attack.
Chris Rigg's injury-enforced absence has opened the door for Aouchiche, and this was the kind of display that ought to put him even further in favour with Le Bris, as well as adding even more weight to the argument that he'll have a key role to play this season.
Aouchiche worked himself into the ground against the Blades, providing plenty of threat in an attacking sense, always seeking to get us on the front foot, and not shirking his defensive duties, either.
To my eyes, he played like a man with a major point to prove, and if we want to sustain our promotion push, I'm 100% certain that we'll be calling on him more often in the weeks and months to come.
Luke O'Nien stays the course after a challenging evening
Conceding a penalty and then an unfortunate own goal might've knocked other players for six, effectively forcing them to 'hide' for the remainder of the game and to ensure they didn't make a tough night even worse.
However, O'Nien isn't like other players and once he steadied himself, he ripped into the second period wholeheartedly, not taking a backward step and showing exactly why he's a genuine stalwart of this team and why he's never fallen out of favour in six years in red and white.
There's an argument to suggest that Dan Ballard may be edging closer to a start alongside Chris Mepham, but one ropey half won't be enough to throw O'Nien off his stride.
He's much too resilient and far too driven for that to happen, and it's testament to his strength of character that he was able to regroup and eventually empty the tank as the Lads held firm in the latter stages.
