2 Up, 2 Down: Mukiele Gets Us Going As Sunderland Beat Wolves!

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Calum Mills says…

Nordi, Nordi, Nordi!

What a player.

A centre back playing at right back, popping up on the left wing and scoring.

He’s class and is always exciting to watch!

“Big Bad Dan Ballard”

I’m confident that when he got home last night, Jorgen Strand Larsen fell out of his pocket.

Another rock solid performance from our man at the back.

Ball retention and usage

The use of the ball in the second half was awful. I’ve never seen us give the it away so much and when we did have it, there were hopeful balls played forwards.

Given we were under so much pressure from the minute the whistle went, whenever we did win the ball in our own box, we tried playing the ball out — only to lose it again and take on more pressure!

Talbi over Traoré…not for me

Sorry, I know Bertrand’s only played 150 minutes for us, but from what I’ve seen, he’s not good enough.

Talbi’s done more in his limited minutes and in the last two games than Traore has done with three starts. I’m hoping that Régis Le Bris has seen the same and we start our Moroccan winger away to Chelsea.

His direct running is what lead to us eventually scoring a second and his pass would’ve made it through to Geertruida anyway…

John Wilson says…

Nordi Mukiele impresses

What a Rolls Royce!

Moved to right back to accommodate Dan Ballard, he was as imperious as ever.

His long throws are a threat as well. A superb showing.

A key win

Getting another three points has always got to be a positive.

It keeps us ticking along nicely and adds to the Stadium of Light’s reputation as a fortress.

Some slack passing

There were far too many slack passes from the goalkeeper to the forward line.

At times, we invited pressure back on ourselves.

Sadiki in the wars

We were all pleased to see Noah Sadiki on the team sheet but he went down twice in the second half before he was substituted.

Hopefully it’s nothing serious and not the start of a repeated niggle.

Lee Morrison says…

Nordi Mukiele is different class!

There’s no doubt about it: he was immense.

His throws are dangerous for the opposition but it was his entire performance, giving nothing away defensively and taking the goal brilliantly.

He’s growing into the role and getting better each week.

Defensive determination

On a day where our passing was, at times a little haphazard, we showed how strong we are defensively.

Dan Ballard and Omar Alderete are a superb pairing, and we needed Ballard’s prowess in the air against a strong, physical Wolves side.

When Robin Roefs was called upon, he responded with some good saves and helped secure another clean sheet.

No room for racism

I was fortunate enough to attend the talk-in with Gary Bennett, Jermain Defoe and Aji Alese last week.

It was the first time that Show Racism the Red Card had hosted an event of that type at a football club and Sunderland were praised for their pioneering approach. Given that, and how Bennett champions the campaign, it was embarrassing to hear boos from our own fans at the start of the match.

The fact that you can boo an agreed gesture against racism in football before then cheering and supporting black players is something I find baffling.

Sunderland ride their luck slightly

Whilst we defended brilliantly, I can’t help but feel that a stronger team would’ve punished us, as Wolves missed some pretty glaring chances.

That said, you can only beat who’s in front of you and we won 2-0, so it’s irrelevant!

Nic Wiseman says…

Enzo Le Fée catches the eye

His little reverse dummy for the first goal was a thing of beauty.

He harried and hassled throughout the game.

Chemsdine Talbi injects some excitement!

He had another great game, making the second goal.

Another grafter.

Traore’s struggles and midfield misfires

Bertrand Traoré was unconvincing and almost gave away a goal. We were much better when he went off.

Our midfield also looked shaky and it wasn’t Granit Xhaka’s best game, but we still won 2-0 — more than the Mags could do against them.

Pre-match booing

The booing of the taking of the knee was embarrassing and made us look like a parochial club.

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