One of few to come out of the game with any kind of credit. Once or twice was perhaps a little too quick to come off his line but made a number of solid stops to keep the scoreline respectable and showed good positioning throughout in his box. 7 placeholder image
One of few to come out of the game with any kind of credit. Once or twice was perhaps a little too quick to come off his line but made a number of solid stops to keep the scoreline respectable and showed good positioning throughout in his box. 7 | Getty Images

Phil Smith's Sunderland player ratings v Bournemouth with two 2/10's in concerning defeat

Phil Smith
By Phil Smith

Sunderland AFC Writer

Published 18th Oct 2026, 16:16 BST

Sunderland faced Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday afternoon

Sunderland were beaten 2-0 by Bournemouth on Sunday to drop further into the Premier League bottom three.

The Black Cats never recovered from a woeful start to the game, in which Evanilson capitalised on two defensive mix ups to assist Marcus Tavernier and force Kevin Danso into making a challenge that earned him a red card. The striker then pounced on a poor backpass to secure the points for the hosts.

Here’s how we rated all the Black Cats involved on the day...

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Probably Sunderland’s best defender though in truth that didn’t say a great deal. Allowed Rayan to get a couple of dangerous shots away but got through most of his defensive work. 5

5. LB - Reinildo

Probably Sunderland’s best defender though in truth that didn’t say a great deal. Allowed Rayan to get a couple of dangerous shots away but got through most of his defensive work. 5 | Sunderland Echo, Chris Fryatt

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Caught on the ball early and while the red card changed the game, he was never anywhere his best and most dominant throughout the game. A long way short of where he has been for most of his Sunderland career so far. 4

6. CM - Granit Xhaka

Caught on the ball early and while the red card changed the game, he was never anywhere his best and most dominant throughout the game. A long way short of where he has been for most of his Sunderland career so far. 4 | Sunderland Echo, Chris Fryatt

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Worked very hard but the red card meant he had next to chance to break forward apart from one relatively promising early drive. 5

7. CM - Noah Sadiki

Worked very hard but the red card meant he had next to chance to break forward apart from one relatively promising early drive. 5 | Sunderland Echo, Chris Fryatt

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Didn’t create much but that was mostly about the game circumstances. At times showed good control and relieved pressure by winning fouls. 5

8. CM - Enzo Le Fee

Didn’t create much but that was mostly about the game circumstances. At times showed good control and relieved pressure by winning fouls. 5 | Sunderland Echo, Chris Fryatt

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