Sunderland continued their Premier League campaign against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Régis Le Bris’ side headed to West London looking to build on their first victory of the season against Fulham, with deadline-day signing Kevin Danso handed his debut.
Here is how James Copley rated the Sunderland players following the final whistle.
5. Nordi Mukiele
Stopped a dangerous Brentford counter-attack towards the end of the first half through excellent positional awareness and athleticism. Did not get forward and overlap as often as he would have liked. 6 | Chris Fryatt
6. Kevin Danso
Slotted into the heart of Sunderland’s defence and did not look like a player who had only met his new teammates last week. A competent debut and demonstrated the value of his tremendous long throw, although he was beaten for pace on a couple of occasions after the break. 7 | Sunderland AFC
7. Noah Sadiki
Quite simply excellent both with and without the ball in the first half. Covered every blade of grass in midfield and helped Sunderland control the contest, though his influence faded after the break. Replaced by Malick Fofana with just over 15 minutes remaining. 7 | AFP via Getty Images
8. Granit Xhaka
Knitted Sunderland’s midfield together superbly throughout the opening 45 minutes. Struggled to exert the same level of control after Keith Andrews’ half-time changes transformed the contest. 6