Sunderland 1 Middlesbrough 2
Club home: van Aanholt (71’)
Club away: Stuani (13’, 45’)
Players and managers come and go, often at alarming speed, but some things at Sunderland never change. They always start seasons slowly. While David Moyes struggled to win Merseyside derbies during his 11 years as Everton manager and the 145th Wear-Tees clash went Middlesbrough's way, the Scot's first game at the Stadium of Light probably said more about Sunderland than him.
Defeat means Sunderland have still not won an August league game since 2010, a wait that explains why they tend to spend much of autumn — and sometimes the entire campaign — in the relegation zone. Boro find themselves sixth after completing a hat-trick for the promoted clubs, all of whom won this weekend.
Hull City and Burnley have confounded many expectations. Middlesbrough, the biggest spenders among the newcomers, had always seemed the best equipped of the newcomers to prosper. Cristhian Stuani's double ensured they recorded a first Premier League victory since 2009.
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They were the more cohesive unit, a counter-attacking team with a solid rearguard and, in the mercurial Uruguayan, a cutting edge. His first goal was a wonderful individual effort, his second a product of impressive teamwork.
His opener was unstoppable, a 25-yard shot that flew at speed into the top corner of Vito Mannone’s net. Then, on the stroke of half-time, incisive, intelligent passing involving the captain George Friend culminated in Adam Forshaw providing the telling reverse ball for Alvaro Negredo. The Spanish striker scored on his debut last week: he willingly eschewed the chance for another goal by unselfishly setting up Stuani for a simpler finish.
Sunderland were scythed open. It felt unsurprising. Moyes was without the two centre-backs and the central midfield trio who formed such a solid spine for Sam Allardyce in April and May. As ever, it feels that Sunderland have relapsed over a summer.
That is not Moyes’ fault — defenders Lamine Kone, an Everton target, and Younes Kaboul, who has joined Watford, wanted to leave — but there is a makeshift look to Sunderland, with three changes to Allardyce’s back four and the veteran John O’Shea limping off, meaning midfielder Jack Rodwell had to drop back.
There were five players making their home debuts in the starting XI and two more amid the subsequent reshuffles as the emphasis in a patched-up team was changed from attempted solidity to frantic attack. The overall impression was that the season has started too soon for them. Sunderland are short of numbers and trying to turn strangers into a team. It is to Moyes’ credit that they almost claimed a point against Manchester City but, while the scoreline was the same on Sunday and the Wearsiders won the second half, the result provided a clearer indication of the scale of his task.
He tends to build from the back and, assuming Kone goes, at least one more centre-half is required. Yann M’Vila, an influential loanee last season, has not been properly replaced in the midfield and Moyes could do worse than bringing him back to the Stadium of Light.
Middlesbrough may be their local rivals but, in many respects, they are Sunderland’s opposites. They conducted much of their business before Moyes was even appointed. They were also building on fine foundations.
Boro had the most frugal defence in the Football League last season and, had first-choice goalkeeper Victor Valdes been fit, they might have recorded a clean sheet. Instead, his deputy Brad Guzan made a fine save from Patrick van Aanholt but the American then erred by palming Duncan Watmore’s shot into the path of the left-back, who halved the deficit. But Boro’s subsequent resilience was admirable. It is something Moyes will seek to instil in Sunderland.
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