Sunderland were beaten 2-1 by Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium – but how did each player fare for Tony Mowbray’s side?
The Black Cats fell a goal down in the seventh minute when Ryan Mmaee opened the scoring, but reacted well when Jack Clarke equalised three minutes later.
Stoke retook the lead shortly after half-time, though, when Luke McNally headed home Daniel Johnson’s corner.
Here’s how Phil Smith rated the Sunderland players at the bet 365 Stadium:
1. Anthony Patterson - 5
Distributed pretty well and hard to argue he could have done much about either goal, though he ended up rooted to his line for the second. 5 Photo: Frank Reid
2. Trai Hume - 6
Didn’t get forward a great deal but was solid enough in defence. Fired wide late on from a decent position where more composure was required. 6 Photo: Frank Reid
3. Dan Ballard - 5
Lost an aerial duel in the build up to Stoke’s opener, though Sunderland were adamant that Mmaee had handled the ball as he controlled to score. McNally then scored a soft header from a corner early in the second half as he got above his opposite number, though the defender didn’t initially look to be his man to mark. Very strong in the last half hour, bringing the ball out under pressure and hitting the post with a header. 5 Photo: Frank Reid
4. Luke O’Nien - 7
One of Sunderland’s better players on the day. Won the vast majority of his aerial duels and made very few errors in possession, often opening up the pitch with his play. 7 Photo: Frank Reid