Sunderland cause Leicester late scare but slip to fifth defeat

For large parts of the first half Sunderland looked every bit the level below Leicester they may well find themselves next season before a spirited second half display almost forced a point for Mike Dodds' side. 

Jamie Vardy scored his 11th goal of the season inside the opening 15 minutes when heading in a rebound after Anthony Patterson had initially denied Wout Faes as the visitors threatened to run away with things. 

But with the score remaining at 0-1 at half-time, Dodds' side competed in the second half and came close when Trai Hume hit the bar before being denied a late penalty when Dan Ballard went to ground.

We Are Sunderland looks back at some of the key talking points:

Leicester’s bright starts continue at Sunderland’s expense

Despite heading to the North East on the back of three straight defeats, Sunderland knew they would have to manage the opening quarter of the game better than they did, with Enzo Maresca’s side amongst the Championship’s most proficient in the first 15 minutes of games.

The Foxes had scored ten times in the first quarter-of-an-hour, only bettered by Leeds United with 15 and three other teams in the Football League [MK Dons, Stockport County and Bolton Wanderers]. And while there may have been a tentative opening to the game as both teams endeavoured to figure out the tactical set-up of their opponents, Leicester soon clicked into gear with five attempts on goal in that opening 15 minute period.

Sunderland were dealt a series of early warnings as a fluid front line of Vardy, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Stephy Mavididi caused several problems down Sunderland’s right side of defence; Mavididi drawing Ballard out of position to race clear in behind before being caught in two minds as to whether to attempt a strike at goal or cross for a team-mate. With Patterson narrowing the angle he opted for the latter but was wayward with his pass as Sunderland were let off the hook.

Patterson was then called into action soon after with an excellent double-save first to deny Vardy from Dewsbury-Hall's cut back having found the same space on the left as Mavididi moments earlier, before Yunus Akgün then picked up the rebound from less than 12-yards only to be thwarted again.

It was a real period of dominance for Leicester as they sliced through Sunderland almost at will – Vardy this time getting to the byline to force a corner. And it was from that corner routine they won a free kick which would provide the opening goal after Patterson had done his best to deny Faes, only for Vardy to loop in a headed rebound for Leicester’s 11th goal inside the first 15 minutes of games this season and give Sunderland another mountain to climb.

First half stats of Sunderland's defeat to Leicester City as per Fotmob (Image: Fotmob)

Premier League level attacking threats

The last time these two teams met on Wearside came back in 2016. It was a Premier League fixture and Leicester were the reigning Premier League champions. A lot has transpired since.

But, as things stand, it is Leicester who are headed back to the promised land of the Premier League rather than Sunderland, and you can see why. Although it may be slightly unfair to compare Leicester’s squad and riches to Sunderland’s, if this is where Sunderland aspire to get to then this defeat shows how long that journey may be, particularly in the first half.

Fresh off the back of relegation last season, Leicester have held onto several of their Premier League assets and despite their recent blip in form by their lofty standards this season, look destined to be one of the three sides promoted at the end of the season.

Within their ranks are a number of Premier League primed assets including the likes of Vardy, Dewsbury-Hall and Mavididi. Between that trio, they had scored 30 goals, ten each, and contributed towards 47 in total before tonight's game. In contrast, Sunderland’s top three goal contributors combine to make up 34 goals but 19 of those are via the injured Jack Clarke.

Leicester’s attack registered a first half xG of 1.14 to Sunderland’s 0.05 having enjoyed nine attempts on goal to Sunderland’s two – just one of those on target. There are levels to both teams, given where they have come from in their not too distant past, Leicester also the beneficiaries of parachute payments, but on this evidence Sunderland remain short of the quality needed in key areas to compete with the likes of Leicester and others who will drop out of the Premier League heading into next season over a sustained period.

Sunderland were limited to just two attempts at goal in the first half (Image: Fotmob)

Sunderland's lack of width

Dodds insisted he would not be afraid to use a back three in his tactical approach again, that despite the erroneous and forgetful first half against Swansea City last time out at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland appeared a little more comfortable as a back four in the weekend tip to Norwich City but were unable to convert that into a positive outcome in terms of points, with the same attacking frailties continuing to restrict them.

But Dodds stuck true to his word in being flexible in his approach with a move back to a back three here against Leicester, aided by Ballard’s return from suspension. Ballard was joined by teenager Chris Rigg, in the starting line-up for the first time, with Callum Styles and Romaine Mundle missing out. And it made Sunderland visibly compact throughout the first half, with Rigg and Jobe Bellingham operating narrow of Luis Hemir.

Sunderland’s biggest threat this season has been from wide areas, naturally with Clarke’s involvement in games. To steer away from that here put a lot of onus on Hume and Leo Hjelde to provide some kind of an outlet in those areas, but it was also likely to combat Leicester’s dominance in possession.

Much like their impressive stats when it comes to scoring in the opening stages of games, Maresca’s side also excel when it comes to dominating the ball in games with only Manchester City, Notts County and Southampton enjoying more possession on average than Leicester’s 63 per cent this season. By making things congested in the middle of the field it forced Leicester to use their width more where Dodds will feel he had extra men having employed wing-backs.

It may have taken until the midway point of the first half for Sunderland to acclimatise to the tempo and interchanging Leicester were throwing back in response, but when they did get to grips with things it allowed Sunderland to grow into the game ever-so slightly – Leicester still dominating with 56 per cent of the possession at the interval.

The flipside of the approach was the negative impact in attack. As referenced, Sunderland’s xG in the first half was just 0.05 from two attempts at goal as they were unable to find any space in the final third, with little from wide areas. Sunderland had just two touches on the right-hand side of the field within the 18-yard box region in the first half, for example. Hjelde offered a little more on the opposite side, but also demonstrated some limitations in being a major threat as an attacking outlet.

At half-time Dodds will have been keen to acknowledge his side were still in the game with the score remaining 0-1 and the longer that went on the more they could think about changing things up to seek a route back into the game.

And after a flat opening to the second half, Dodds did just that with the introduction of both Adil Aouchiche and Mundle in a change of system which caused an element of chaos for Leicester’s defence. Within minutes of being on the field Sunderland came within inches of levelling things up as the change in approach created space for Hume on the right who tried his luck from distance only to be denied by a wonderful save from Mads Hermansen when pushing his effort onto the bar.

Trai Hume came close to an equaliser for Sunderland against Leicester City (Image: Ian Horrocks)

Chris Riggs stakes a claim on first start

On a night where Sunderland needed to stand up and put in a performance to end their poor run of form, Rigg certainly did himself no disservice on his first start in a red and white shirt.

Sunderland supporters have been clamouring for the England youth international to be given an opportunity from the off, and he was thrown in at the deep end against Leicester.

It took the young 16-year-old a matter of minutes to showcase that youthful fearlessness, flying into a tackle on the right-hand flank and putting the ball out for a throw in, the Stadium of Light responding with a roar.

With Leicester taking the lead inside just 13 minutes, it looked as though it was going to be a long night. That being said, Sunderland settled in to the first-half and Rigg found some nice pockets of space in between the lines.

Operating behind Hemir in the No.10, along with Jobe, the red and white academy graduate was tasked defensively with monitoring the forward runs of former Black Cats loanee, Callum Doyle, from centre-half with success in the opening half-an-hour.

Rigg drifted infield when Sunderland had possession and it was in these central areas where he was often unchecked, but didn’t get the ball enough to do any real damage in the first half. There was a concerted effort to get Rigg into the box for any knockdowns from Hemir, but the very few deliveries which made their way into the box were poor.

The youngster was more involved in the second half and had a number of long range efforts - none of which called Hermansen into action. The youngster was applauded by all four corners of the ground when he made way on the 82nd minute.

Ballard return timely

The justification in Dodds’ decision to start with a back three is likely to have been determined by Ballard’s return from suspension. The centre-back has missed the defeats to Swansea and Norwich and his impact was most certainly felt both in the first half against Swansea and the authority in dealing with Josh Sargent’s goal for Norwich at Carrow Road.

“If you look at the first game that I took (against Swansea), it was glaringly obvious straight away how important Dan was to us,” admitted Dodds. “It’s been a big blow to lose him, but hopefully we’ve made the most of it.

“During international breaks, Dan goes away with his country, and he’s robust and plays a lot of games for us and trains every day. When he got the suspension, we gave him a few days to mentally refresh himself, and in the last seven to ten days, since he’s come back, he’s been bouncy and bubbly, and it’s almost like signing a new player.”

Ballard finds himself towards the top of several of the defensive metrics Sunderland and Dodds will interest themselves in but he was given a specific job in the early part of this game in marking the 2019-20 Premier League golden boot winner, Vardy.

Leicester’s interchanging meant Vardy was both dropping deeper and moving out wide which caused a little uncertainty amongst Sunderland’s backline, but Ballard was keen to follow.

The set piece will frustrate both Ballard and Dodds, as Vardy was able to nod in what turned out to be the only goal of the game from close range after Patterson had saved from Faes.

Ballard ended the game with more clearances than any other player on the pitch and almost earned his side a shot at taking a point when being bundled over in the area as an impromptu forward in the closing stages only for referee Sunny Singh Gill to wave away the protests.

Ballard’s return is also timely after Luke O’Nien picked up his tenth yellow card of the season in the second half. Both O’Nien and Ballard have been walking a tightrope in recent weeks with both pending likely suspensions. Sunderland had hoped they avoided the worst-case scenario in both first choice centre-backs being suspended at the same time, but results will now suggest otherwise.

Sunderland, though, having got Ballard back, will be without their captain until the trip to Cardiff City on Good Friday.

Harsh reality of five defeats

Dodds will take encouragement from how his side responded in the second half, and certainly for the final quarter of the game, having limited Leicester to an xG of 0.01 in the second half. After what had been a subdued and, at times, lacklustre first half, they turned this game into a fight and made Leicester earn their three points.

But the harsh reality is that Sunderland have now lost a fifth straight game for the first time since 2015 under Sam Allardyce’s tenure in the Premier League which included a run of fixtures against Arsenal, Watford, Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool. Sunderland have suffered two relegations in that time since and have not lost five successive games in either of those campaigns. And with a trip to Southampton to come, that could turn into six, despite any positives Dodds may take.

If Sunderland are to turn things around they will need to strike a better balance between their defensive approach in the first half and their attacking approach after the break, with the second half here much more of a template to move forward with.

But with 10 points the gap now to the top-six, it feels as though those aspirations, in terms of a promotion push, will need to be put on hold until next season.