Sunderland legend Gary Bennett praised midfielder Jules Ahoka for his performance in Sunday’s win against Chelsea.

Sunderland legend Gary Bennett believes the performance of substitute Jules Ahoka ‘summed up’ the Black Cats performance in Sunday’s win against Premier League rivals Chelsea.

The summer signing has shown clear signs of why Sunderland were so keen to secure his services during the early months of his time on Wearside - and he produced yet another performance to enthuse over as he came off the bench to replace captain Granit Xhaka during the early stages of the win against the Blues.

placeholder image — AFP via Getty Images

The 20-year-old midfielder produced a powerful performance in the heart of Regis Le Bris’ side to limit the impact made by Xhaka’s early withdrawal and showed maturity and discipline in front of the back four. Bennett was delighted to see his old club claim a win that has lifted them from the bottom of the Premier League table and described Ahoka’s performance as ‘like a seasoned pro’.

He told BBC Newcastle: “A fantastic result. We spoke about it on Total Sport, you either go one way or the other. You either put in a performance or unfortunately, you get beaten heavily. But you have to say, right from the off, they were right up for it and I think it just summed it up when, ok, we lost Xhaka very early in the game but credit to Ahoka, who came in and he seemed like he was a seasoned pro when he was in there. He wasn’t fazed at all.”

Join the Echo’s WhatsApp SAFC Channel for the latest news, team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click this link to join.

Problems

Brian Brobbey of Sunderland and Chelsea's Levi Colwill of Chelsea battle for possession (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images) | Getty Images

One of the features of the Black Cats win was an all-action display from striker Brian Brobbey as he ensured Blues defenders Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana experienced a torrid afternoon on Wearside. Bennett praised the Netherlands international for producing another eye-catching performance and believes the visitors centre-backs ‘did not know how to handle him’.

He said: “You look at Brobbey, you get him to play, you play to his strengths and he’s going to cause any team problems in this Premier League because defenders can not handle him. The two centre-backs didn’t know how to handle him. They will know they’ve been in a game this afternoon.”

Your next Sunderland read: Luke O'Nien lifts lid on Granit Xhaka's early Chelsea exit amid Sunderland conspiracy theories