Vito Mannone - 9 (Man of the match)
A great game for the Italian, who proved why he is worthy of a number one spot in the Sunderland starting lineup.
The former Arsenal man looked inconsolable at the final whistle after several crucial saves in each half looked to have prevented Sunderland from a clear loss.
DeAndre Yedlin - 6
The on-loan American full-back never looked to be in any real danger in defence, but appeared to have a lack of confidence in attack, failing to deliver balls in the box, and opted to pass back to M’Vila in the middle.
Lamine Kone - 7
The french born central defender gave another solid performance in defence and offered an assist by placing a pass withing the 18-yard box to allow Jermain Defoe to break the deadlock.
Younès Kaboul - 6
The former Portsmouth defender looked to be rusty after recovering from an injury but soon settled into the game after a few early errors.
An average performance to say the least, his mistakes luckily didn’t prove costly as Southampton forward Pelle was not on form.
Patrick Van Aanholt - 6
Defended well against an attacking and dominant Southampton side, but was unable to make any difference in attack like he is capable of.
Jan Kirchhoff - 8
The best performance by a outfield player at St Mary’s, he was constantly providing balls to the attacking players in the Sunderland side, whilst offering a relentless work rate to cover the back four.
An all round great performance in which without his ability to block and intercept crucial balls in the game, there would have been some added pressure on Mannone’s goal.
Among all else, he shows a real head of confidence for a young man, in which his ability more than backs up.
Yann M'Vila - 6
Another quiet game for the french midfielder, but never looked to relieve any pressure on the Saints.
Jack Rodwell - 5.5
He looks to be improving, but a £10-million player should be a lot better than what we have seen from Rodwell. The former Manchester City man couldn’t convert a chance on goal, yet again. A chance that should have at least tested the keeper.
The remainder of the game he was lost, he couldn’t successfully track back but also didn’t offer much in support behind the attacking players of Sunderland as his legs grew tired.
Wahbi Khazri - 5
The Tunisian playmaker didn’t make a difference to the side, he failed to leave an impact on the game before being replaced by Larsson in the 76th minute.
Perhaps Sunderland most disappointing player today.
Fabio Borini - 8
His never die attitude, relentless work rate and the willingness to never let a ball get away was rewarded in a sending off of Saints captain Jose Fonte as he brought Borini down on the edge of the box.
Borini is once again proving to be a player Sunderland need in the last remaining games of the season, the spirit to fight in a relegation battle.
Dame N'Doye - 4
If someone were to tell me he was on the pitch for 56 minutes before being replaced by Defoe, I wouldn’t believe it.
His presence made no difference.
SUB: Seb Larsson - 6
The Swedish international missed a glorious chance within the box in the 83rd minute, and apart from that the player, coming back from injury, didn’t do much else.
SUB: Jermain Defoe - 7.5
Snuffed out the one clear chance given to him, there isn’t a goal scoring chance that any Sunderland fan wouldn’t want the former Spurs man on the end.
SUB: John O'Shea - 3
A player you should rely on to see the game through, however, the former Manchester United man got easily turned inside the box to allow Van Dijk to score the equaliser.
A baffling substitution, and one that has cost Sunderland two points.
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