Le Bris must drop big-money Sunderland star who was outclassed by Anderson

Sometimes in football, an unexplainable result comes along. For Sunderland, it was defeat at the Stadium of Light against Nottingham Forest.

Regis Le Bris’ side have been outstanding since returning to the Premier League this season, but this was a sobering night indeed, with hopes of boarding a train into Europe dampened by this four-goal hammering.

It feels like Sunderland are fizzling out at the end of a tremendous campaign. It would not be the first time that this has happened for a Premier League team spending so many months in the limelight.

However, the porous defence is becoming an issue, as was brutally confirmed against the Tricky Trees.

How Sunderland were thrashed by Forest

After the drubbing, Le Bris spoke of a “big difference in intensity” between Sunderland and their opponents, who clearly don’t fancy a trip back into the Championship, fighting tooth and nail to create some breathing room between them and the relegation zone.

The Black Cats manager has been a pillar of composure throughout the campaign, so organised and efficient in setting up his teams, but here, they were hit by an early tidal wave and never managed to recover, Trai Hume’s own goal after seven minutes followed by three further strikes in a quick spew to send Sunderland in a spin.

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This has been a top campaign for the Wearsiders, but their creativity has threatened to become a problem all year. This was clear against Forest, who were resilient and defended well.

However, Sunderland’s playmakers didn’t do enough, only creating one big chance as they searched for a route back into the game. Much will be made of the shaky defending – and rightly so – but imbalances have sprouted that were not there in the earlier knockings of the season.

Someone needs to stand up, and right now, it doesn’t look like one of the club’s big-money signings is the man to make a change, having been thoroughly outclassed by the likes of Elliot Anderson.

Sunderland must drop star who was outclassed by Anderson

Nottingham Forest haven’t exactly been the sharpest playmakers in the Premier League this season, but they burned through Sunderland’s resistance with a passionate performance on Wearside.

Le Bris cut a frustrated figure at full-time, and he must have been disappointed with another performance from Habib Diarra that left a lot to be desired.

Diarra, 22, is young and inexperienced, but there’s no question that he should be offering more for the Black Cats, the outfit’s record signing after arriving from Strasbourg for £30m last summer.

Injuries and the African Cup of Nations haven’t helped him, but this was the 11th consecutive Premier League start for the Senegal international, and he did not impress,

The attacking midfielder has struggled to adapt to the pace and intensity of the English top flight, and against Nottingham Forest, he was certainly outclassed by Anderson, failing with each of his three attempted crosses and failing to create a single chance.

Moreover, the young midfielder lost the ball every 4.4 touches, showing that he was ineffective when he did touch the ball – only 32 times in total.

Hooked after 66 minutes, it’s clear that Diarra needs a spell out of the starting line-up. He has now started 11 games in a row, and Le Bris is not getting bang for his buck.

Make no mistake, this has still been an exceptional season that Sunderland, who are not threatened by relegation and remain within touching distance of a record points haul in the Premier League.

But improvements are required, to be sure, and Diarra may need to be dropped in order for them to come to pass before summer arrives.

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