Phil Smith: I watched Sunderland's disappointing defeat at Brentford and these were my key conclusions

Sunderland were beaten 3-0 by Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Wednesday night.

Phil Smith was there reporting for The Echo and these were his key conclusions...

Brentford deliver sobering night for Black Cats

If there was a sense that maybe Sunderland have been defying gravity just a little of late, and most certainly during this AFCON period, then this proved to be a quite brutal bump back down to earth.

A trip to Brentford, so strong at home this season, always looked like a devilish assignment off the back of such a punishing schedule. Fears that this would be one away game too many proved prescient.

Yes, Sunderland spurned a glorious opportunity to level from the penalty spot during their best spell of their game, but they were second best for the vast majority of this game. At the point Le Fée chipped his effort straight into the welcoming arms of Caoimhin Kelleher, Brentford had already racked up seven shots on Sunderland’s goal and with an XG of around 1.3. From that point onwards, they would register another 11 shots with an additional XG of around 2. Sunderland were the architects of their own downfall at times, with so many of Brentford’s best moments coming when the visitors gifted the ball into the path. That, though, was a reflection of Brentford’s intensity and structure out of possession. Impressive, too, was their combination of pace on the break and technical quality through midfielders Mathias Jensen and Vitality Janelt.

They looked a better side on the day, and there are good reasons for that.

In the short term because of how stretched this Sunderland side is at the end of a tricky period, and because they have had a number of windows to build a squad with strength and quality that perhaps belies their historic stature as a club. The craft and quality of Mikkel Damsgaard as a second-half substitute summed that up. To build a team this strong having sold over £100 million of attackers in the summer window is a marvellous feat, and also a reminder that it takes time to establish yourself fully at this level. It doesn’t always feel like it when you have Granit Xhaka and Nordi Mukiele in your starting XI, but Sunderland are still playing catch up when it comes to building a squad for this division. Call it a bump, a reality check, whatever you like - Sunderland were always going to have days like this in their first campaign back. It doesn’t excuse the performance, which was well off what we have become used to, but it is a reminder that you have to respect what so many of these established midtable sides have built.

Penalty gremlins return - but Sunderland shouldn’t overreact

It felt as if Enzo Le Fée had solved the penalty woe of last season, his three attempts this season (don’t forget his brilliant effort in the penalty shootout against Huddersfield Town) showing a player with the nerve and quality to handle the pressure.

This, undoubtedly, was a bit of a horror moment for the midfield. Did he overthink it, having already taken a penalty against Kelleher earlier this season? Did he maybe think he had spotted the goalkeeper moving early? Emotions were running high on Wednesday night but surely no one who has watched Le Fée put in one tireless shift after another since joining the club could think it was about ego or arrogance. It was a costly mistake, a harsh lesson, and no more than that. It should also be noted that he had been Sunderland’s best player on the pitch before that moment, both in his work rate and his creativity. As Le Bris said afterwards, mistakes and risks come hand-in-hand. Was this too much of a risk? Probably, but there were plenty of mistakes on show across the board in this game. Le Fée has credit in the bank and then some, a player fully deserving of support and a chance to put it right in the weeks ahead.

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The Sunderland duo who made an impression on tough night

As Le Bris said afterwards, it’s easy to write the story afterwards. Undoubtedly true, and yet so instant and significant was Eliezer Mayenda’s impact from the bench in this game that it felt like an obvious error not to start him.

Le Bris had wanted fresh legs on the pitch and understandably rates the defensive tenacity Chris Rigg brings, but Mayenda’s workload over the last few months has not been particularly onerous and so it seemed an odd decision for him to be the one who missed out.

Regardless, Mayenda’s positive impact was one of the few positives to take from the night and so too was another strong performance from Brian Brobbey. Defenders are struggling to cope with his strength and now fully fit, he looks a real handful at the level. If Sunderland can find a way to get more players close to him in open play, he looks like he’s going to really improve the club’s attacking output.

A word too for Romaine Mundle, who is clearly improving with each cameo from the bench. The game at Everton on Saturday looks like a big opportunity for him.

Sunderland left with obvious room to improve on the road

Sunderland have not been an easy watch away from home this season, and there is no getting around it. Their record is actually pretty good, a haul of 10 points leaving them 13th in the away table (albeit having played a game more on the road than many). It’s still better than Brentford’s, and significantly better than the other two promoted sides. Put simply, playing away from home at this level is difficult and Sunderland’s defensive approach has broadly worked. Only four goals on the road is a worry, though, and they didn’t create too much here aside from the penalty. Bertrand Traore’s return looks important, as their wingers didn’t hold the ball or carry them up the pitch well enough here. In time, Le Fée’s move into the middle already looks like it is yielding positive results from a creative standpoint. If there’s a clear area of Le Bris to improve in the long run, however, it is this one.

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