Sunderland fell to a 5-3 defeat at Manchester City on Sunday afternoon, with several key factors for Regis Le Bris to consider following the loss.
Sunderland lost 5-3 at Premier League leaders Manchester City on Sunday afternoon, with Enzo Fernandez, Rayan Cherki, Antoine Semenyo with his brace, and Erling Haaland getting on the scoresheet to cancel out Brian Brobbey's emphatic hat-trick.
In the build-up to the dramatically exciting affair, Man City boss Enzo Maresca believed Sunderland would be his side's toughest game of the season yet, and the Black Cats delivered on his prediction with their outstanding attacking output.
Brobbey and Sunderland creator-in-chief Enzo Le Fée connected beautifully on a number of occasions, with the Dutchman giving Ruben Dias a torrid afternoon, but the Black Cats' usually stern defence offered City too many chances for victory.
Therefore, Sunderland head into the three-week-long international break on the back of a disappointing result in which their attacking efforts went in vain, with plenty for Regis Le Bris to ponder before their Premier League return at home versus in-form Brighton on October 10.
Here, SunderlandRoundtable runs you through three key takeaways from the Black Cats' 5-3 defeat to Man City.
Sunderland's Dayann Methalie in action against Man City (REUTERS)Difficult Premier League Debut for Dayann Methalie
Le Bris awarded summer signing Dayann Methalie his first Premier League start for Sunderland, in place of the suspended Reinildo Mandava, and it was somewhat of a rude awakening for the £25.7m addition from Toulouse.
In the opening minutes, Methalie gave away a needless foul to go into the book after just eight minutes, which saw Enzo Fernandez score a surprising yet stunning strike from the resulting free-kick to defy Robin Roefs and break the deadlock.
Overall, Methalie showed great pace on a number of occasions and is clearly gifted athletically, but the 20-year-old is still extremely raw defensively, and Le Bris will hope that the French youth international can use the defeat as a learning experience for the season ahead.
Manchester City's Elliot Anderson fouls Sunderland's Granit Xhaka (Action Images via Reuters)Don't forget to sign up for FREE. It takes 30 seconds and means you can comment, like, and receive notifications when we post an article! Click JOIN at the top.
VAR Fails to Check Elliot Anderson Handball Incident
Later in the game, with the score 3-2 to City, Elliot Anderson seemed to handle the ball and nudge it away from Le Fee with his arm inside his own box, with the dubious incident going unchecked by the VAR on-lookers before the hosts doubled their advantage just two minutes later.
The former Newcastle United midfielder clearly seemed to change the direction of the ball with his arm, much to the fury of Le Fee, who immediately called for handball to referee Rob Jones.
Decisive moments in matches like these raise the question of VAR's worthiness yet again.
Kevin Danso reacts during Sunderland's defeat at Manchester City (Action Images via Reuters)Sunderland Cause Their Own Downfall In Defence
Sunderland's defeat was encapsulated by their own defensive mistakes, which were ruthlessly punished by the potent City attackers.
Nordi Mukiele, Kevin Danso, and Dan Ballard all made errors at the back for Le Bris' side to see Brobbey's hat-trick of goals go in vain for Sunderland in a performance to be proud of, but also one to take some crucial lessons from.
Regardless, it is extremely promising to see Sunderland look much more dangerous from an attacking and creative sense, especially against three stellar opponents in Arsenal, AZ Alkmaar, and City within their last three outings, which will fill Le Bris with promise heading into the post-international break run.
