Sunderland were largely disappointing in the first North East derby of the season as Middlesbrough took all three of the points in a game where they looked primarily comfortable. Tactically the game was an interesting one as Sunderland decided to sit deep in the first half, but the addition of Jeremain Lens changed the game for them. Despite this, Sunderland went surprisingly flat after Patrick van Aanholt pulled a goal back and they were deservedly booed off by the supporters.
Team News- Aitor Karanka made three changes to his Middlesbrough side as Christian Stuani replaced Albert Adomah, Adam Forshaw replaced Marten de Roon and Brad Guzan replaced the injured Victor Valdes in goal. They lined up in their usual lopsided 4-2-3-1 system and Christian Stuani often drifted up top alongside the excellent Alvaro Negredo.
Sunderland made three changes, Paddy McNair replaced the sold Younes Kaboul and moved into midfield whilst John O’Shea moved back into defence. Lamine Kone was replaced by Papy Djilobodji and Adnan Januzaj replaced Fabio Borini who picked up an injury in training. It was a defensive 4-2-3-1 formation for David Moyes and Sunderland.
The Early Tactics- What was most worrying from a Sunderland point of view is that they started a home game to a promoted team with a central defender in center midfield and attempted to play on the counter against a team who doesn’t really like to get on the front foot in away games. Sunderland sat deep in two banks of four which is rather typical of a David Moyes side and they tried to break with the pace of Adnan Januzaj and Duncan Watmore. The issue was that the central midfielders couldn’t support the forward players with effective distribution and this basically meant that Sunderland lacked support in the final third as the full backs and the deep midfielders offered absolutely nothing. Between the three Sunderland players who played in the centre of the park (Pienaar, McNair, Rodwell), only one key pass was completed and no dribbles were completed.
Middlesbrough play a very well rounded 4-2-3-1 system that circulates the ball very evenly as you can see in the tweet below. Adam Forshaw was the best player on the pitch and dictated play very evenly between right and left. Boro’s system is very flexible as the players in it can play multiple roles. As a former forward, Christian Stuani is comfortable moving infield and this was shown best during the second goal where he attacked the space vacated by Alvaro Negredo. Gaston Ramirez is a powerful player who can play up alongside the striker and Stewart Downing can move infield and operate as an attacking midfielder as opposed to a winger. The flexible roles these players all play stop Boro from becoming predictable. What set them apart from Sunderland was that the central midfielders actually offered something to the game, Forshaw and Clayton made one key pass, four interceptions and completed 11 tackles between them and these numbers are vastly superior to those of Sunderland’s midfielders.
Twitter: Impressive how both DM’s dictate stuff in this Middlesbrough team. https://t.co/oICJsggRFS (@11tegen11)
Januzaj and Gooch- Despite this being a pretty awful performance from Sunderland, Adnan Januzaj and Lynden Gooch were really impressive for most of the game. Gooch linked thinks very well and constantly brought Patrick Van Aanholt into the final third with good passes. Januzaj completed six dribbles, four key passes and was a constant threat for Sunderland, their wide play will probably be their major weapon this year. Duncan Watmore also played well for them as he completed four dribbles and a key pass, but his crossing and final delivery often appeared rushed which isn’t abnormal for a young player with raw potential.
Moyes’ tactics were very winger centric in the game and this makes perfect sense as they are the ones who can provide the attacking spark. Moyes used a lopsided system with an attacking left back when he was last at Everton and he will be hoping that Patrick Van Aanholt can be Sunderland’s version of Leighton Baines. He provides a constant outlet and in the modern game that is ridiculously important.
Overall- David Moyes sadly got this horribly wrong as he started the game with negative tactics. This is the sort of attitude that has plagued him throughout his career and it is why he failed to succeed with Manchester United and Real Sociedad. Jeremain Lens’ introduction at half time changed the game as he actually offered something unlike Paddy McNair. Moyes said after the game that Sunderland are in a relegation battle, but with the squad they will have when everyone is fit that shouldn’t be the case, he just needs to play people in their actual positions.
As for Middlesbrough, this was an impressive away victory and they combined defensive solidity with real flexibility in the attacking third. They often got called boring in the championship, but their creative players are fun to watch as they are capable of producing moments of magic. Both of their goals wouldn’t look out of place in a goal of the month lineup.
