Robin Roefs' warm-up niggle raises concern as Habib Diarra and Nilson Angulo suffer Fulham scares – moments missed

Sunderland returned to the Stadium of Light looking to respond after opening the Premier League season with defeat away from home. The Black Cats came into the weekend 14th in the table without a point, with Fulham also yet to get off the mark after losing their opening fixture.

Fulham had been the only side to complete a league double over Sunderland last season, winning both meetings, but arrived on Wearside under new management. Alvaro Arbeloa had taken charge following Marco Silva’s departure, adding another layer to a fixture Sunderland had historically edged overall.

Sunderland still held the edge in the fixture’s overall history. Before this meeting, the two clubs had faced each other 68 times in all competitions, with Sunderland winning 26, Fulham winning 22 and 20 matches ending in draws. Here were some of the moments you may have missed from the Stadium of Light:

Roefs concern before kick-off

There was a little concern around Robin Roefs during Sunderland’s warm-up. The goalkeeper looked uncomfortable getting back to his feet after a couple of saves and appeared awkward when dealing with crosses, with the session noticeably slowed at one point.

Roefs was also bent over and appeared to be wincing as the goalkeepers worked through their final preparations. There was no late change, though, and the Dutchman was able to take his place in the starting XI as planned.

Familiar Le Bris rotation

Sunderland’s shape continued to shift in possession during a reasonably bright opening 10 minutes, even if they struggled to create anything clear-cut. Enzo Le Fée repeatedly drifted towards the right wing position, with Trai Hume moving inside into midfield.

That sort of rotation is nothing new under Régis Le Bris, but the broader issue was how slowly Sunderland built attacks. They are comfortable inviting opponents towards them and attempting to play through the pressure, but Fulham were often happy not to engage.

That left Sunderland facing a different problem. Teams know much more about them now and the Black Cats are no longer the surprise Premier League newcomers they were last season. Finding ways to create openings against opponents happy to sit off could become one of the defining tactical challenges of the campaign.

Mukiele and Reinildo exchange

Nordi Mukiele was far from happy with Reinildo after a Fulham attack in the 13th minute. The left-back had found himself positionally unavailable when the visitors worked the ball towards Sunderland’s left side, leaving Mukiele to deal with the resulting cross.

There were some very direct words exchanged between the two defenders afterwards as they attempted to sort out what had gone wrong. It was a small moment, but a reminder of the standards and communication required in a defensive unit still developing its understanding.

Thomas Meunier registered Sunderland’s first effort on goal three minutes later. Noah Sadiki did well to win possession initially before some sharp one-touch football involving Granit Xhaka and Le Fée opened the space for the Belgian to shoot.

Angulo worry and a message from the stands

There was an injury scare for Nilson Angulo shortly after the restart when César Palacios crashed into Sunderland’s number 10. Angulo stayed down for some time after taking a heavy blow to the midriff before eventually continuing.

Sunderland had started the second half badly, and frustration inside the Stadium of Light was becoming increasingly obvious. By the 59th minute, supporters were chanting Chemsdine Talbi’s name as the winger warmed up on the touchline, a fairly clear message to Le Bris that they wanted more natural width.

The head coach instead made a double change five minutes later, with Angulo and Brian Brobbey replaced by Habib Diarra and Wilson Isidor. It meant Sunderland were left without a recognised winger on the pitch.

Isidor misses, then makes no mistake

Sunderland finally produced their best chance of the game in the 70th minute. Le Fée escaped down the left and delivered an excellent ball across goal for Isidor, who looked certain to score but instead struck the post.

Remarkably, Isidor was presented with an almost identical opportunity soon afterwards, only this time the attack developed down Sunderland’s right. Substitute Diarra broke into space on the flank and supplied the ball across goal.

This time Isidor made no mistake. Having hit the woodwork with his first big opportunity, the striker converted the second, and Sunderland finally found the breakthrough they had spent so much of the afternoon struggling to create.

Cruel Diarra blow after instant impact

Diarra’s afternoon ended in desperately unfortunate fashion after he had only just made a decisive contribution from the bench. The midfielder supplied the assist for Wilson Isidor’s goal, driving down the right before finding the striker with the kind of direct run Sunderland had been missing.

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Diarra then appeared to pick up a problem shortly afterwards and was seen holding his leg before being forced off. Chris Rigg replaced him with seven minutes remaining, cutting short what had been a hugely encouraging cameo. It was particularly cruel given how quickly Diarra had changed the feel of Sunderland’s attack, adding pace and purpose from the right almost immediately after his introduction. Romaine Mundle replaced Le Fee off the bench and saw a late chance to make it 2-0 saved by Bernd Leno. The Black Cats were able to hold on for their first Premier League win of the campaign.

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