SUNDERLAND wrapped up their pre-season with an entertaining 2-2 draw with Marseille at Valley Parade.

Dennis Cirkin and substitute Adil Aouchiche scored the goals for the Black Cats, with attention now turning to the Championship opener against Cardiff City next Saturday.

CARDIFF HINT AND TRANSFER MUST

The final friendly of the summer didn't really tell us anything we didn't already know.

It offered more evidence as to the likely starting XI for next week's Championship opener at Cardiff - which is what most fans would have predicted before Regis Le Bris named his team for Marseille.

And, on the day Alexandre Mendy released a fresh statement pushing for Caen to sanction his desired move to Wearside, it highlighted Sunderland's desperate need for a striker.

The Black Cats played well against a good Marseille side but again lacked a goalscoring threat and a striker to play off.

Eliezer Mayenda got the nod ahead of Nazariy Rusyn at Valley Parade but his display was unconvincing. Even if Sunderland get a striker over the line this week, he'll need time to adjust and settle so Mayenda is the likely starter at Cardiff.

Hemir doesn't feature in Le Bris' plans. He played for the Under-21s rather than the first team last Saturday, was an unused substitute when the second string lost to Bradford in midweek and wasn't included in the travelling squad for the second trip to Valley Parade. Jewison Bennette, Jay Matete and Elliot Embleton were all left out as well.

The striker role aside, the only real questions ahead of Cardiff were at centre-half and centre-midfield, but the Marseille game may well have provided the answers, with Aji Alese returning after his injury scare last week and Alan Browne preferred to Chris Rigg, who was on the bench.

JUDE WATCHES JOBE....

The star attraction at Valley Parade on Saturday was in the stands rather than on the pitch, with Jude Bellingham in the directors' box to watch his younger brother Jobe.

The Real Madrid superstar sat alongside his parents and Sunderland's hierarchy in Bradford's main stand and watched on as Jobe had a good chance to score the game's first goal, driving forward from midfield and shooting from the edge of the area, a slight deflection from the edge of the area taking the ball into the arms of grateful Marseille goalkeeper Ruben Blanco.

Jobe's midfield intervention set Jack Clarke away on an attack midway through the first half that led to a corner which ultimately came to nothing.

But Sunderland's midfielder was fortunate one mistake wasn't punished when a sloppy midfield pass was inadvertently directed straight into the path of a Marseille attacker, with Trai Hume coming to Sunderland's rescue.

THE ACTION

There was a lively and open start to the first half, with chances at both ends.

After Bellingham's effort, Patrick Roberts cut in from the right and fired over, before Marseille threatened for the first time when Geoffrey Kondogbia flashed a shot from the edge of the box narrowly wide after a swift and eye-catching attack.

The French side are clearly still getting to grips with the requirements of new boss Roberto De Zerbi and were frequently sloppy as they over-played in their own half in the early stages.

But Sunderland were guilty of doing the same and almost punished when Amine Harit pulled a shot just wide of Anthony Patterson's right post after a defensive mix-up.

And the opening goal for Marseille just before the half hour mark was something of a gift. Dan Neil gave the ball away in midfield and the French side took full advantage, working it to the unmarked Faris Moumbagna, who slotted beyond Patterson.

Sunderland had their moments before and after the goal. Roberts fired a free-kick from the edge of the area just over and later a strike from the right side of the box just wide, and Trai Hume also tried his luck from distance but didn't test Blanco.

And the Black Cats would have been 2-0 down at half-time had it not been for the toe of Patterson, who managed to just get enough contact on the ball as Moumbagna tried to round him just before the break.

Sunderland were excellent in the early stages of the second half and deservedly levelled when Roberts' sublime cross was headed in by Cirkin. Buoyed by their leveller, the Black Cats pushed for a second, but Marseille got themselves back in front against the run of play, substitute Ismael Kone, a summer signing from Sunderland's Championship rivals Watford, scoring a fine goal when he cut in from the left and curled into the far corner.

Clarke almost followed suit at the midway stage of the second half. Last season's top scorer rolled the ball under his foot as he beat his man before taking aim, his shot flashing past Blanco and crashing off the outside of the far post.

Le Bris turned to his bench and one of substitutes won a penalty that was scored by another seven minutes from time. Rusyn latched onto the Hume's through ball and hit the deck in the box. Adil Aouchiche then stepped up and sent Blanco the wrong way.

ROBERTS ENCOURAGEMENT

A big plus point for Sunderland was the performance of Roberts on the right.

The winger endured a difficult and disappointing season last term but Le Bris will have quickly identified the importance of the former Manchester City man, who was sharp and dangerous at Valley Parade, a promising display that bodes well for the campaign ahead.

Roberts was Sunderland's most likely route to goal in the first half, twice going close and his superb cross for the leveller deserved the headed finish provided by Cirkin. There was a swagger to Roberts' play after that and moments after the leveller he twisted this way and that before delivering another teasing cross that was this time cleared.

Clarke's importance is obvious but this was a reminder that Sunderland's wide attacking threat isn't just limited to the left flank.

Sunderland: Patterson, Hume, O'Nien, Alese, Cirkin, Neil, Browne (Rigg, 72), Jobe (Aouchiche, 79), Roberts (Ba, 79), Clarke (Mundle, 72), Mayenda (Rusyn, 79)

Subs: Moore, Hjelde, Johnson