Sunderland‘s dismal start to the 2026/27 Premier League campaign continued as they were beaten 2-0 by Bournemouth on the South Coast on Sunday afternoon.
The Black Cats are in the relegation zone after seven matches and have only won one match in the division, which came against Fulham back in August.
Regis Le Bris must be scratching his head and wondering how it has all gone wrong after his side finished seventh in the Premier League and secured European football last season.
The answer as to how it went so wrong against the Cherries is fairly simple, though, as the manager’s two central defenders both let him down at the Vitality.
Why Alderete and Danso must not start together
Le Bris must not start the two central defenders in the same pairing again this season after a disasterclass from them against the Cherries on Sunday.
Both players got off to the worst possible start when they had a mix-up between them and allowed Evanilson to get in down the right, before the striker clipped a cross over to Marcus Tavernier to score.
Just over ten minutes later, Danso failed to deal with another ball over the top and was forced into fouling the Cherries centre-forward, which left the referee with no choice but to send him off in the 17th minute.
Whilst he may not have been sent off, Alderete cannot claim that he was much better than his centre-back partner, as it was his dreadful back pass that assisted Evanilson’s goal just after the break.
|
Vs Bournemouth |
Danso |
Alderete |
|---|---|---|
|
Minutes |
17 |
59 |
|
Ground duels won |
0/1 |
0/1 |
|
Aerial duels won |
0/0 |
1/2 |
|
Defensive contributions |
1 |
5 |
|
Clearances |
0 |
4 |
|
Error led to goal |
1 |
1 |
Neither defender won a single ground duel in their time on the pitch, whilst they won one aerial battle between them, and the Paraguay international came off the pitch with a pass success rate of just 55% in almost an hour on the pitch.
Sunderland have another pairing who must never start again
Alderete and Danso should not partner each other again after that dismal showing on the South Coast, but they are not the only pairing from the defeat who should never start again.
Le Bris opted to stick with the combination of Chris Rigg in the number ten role and Timur Tuterov as the centre-forward after they failed to make an impact against Torreense in the Europa League on Thursday night.
With the benefit of hindsight, that decision looks like it was a big mistake by the French head coach because the pairing once again failed to deliver at the top end of the pitch.
It is a difficult situation for the boss to manage, with Brian Brobbey coming back from injury, but the Ukraine U21 international did not do enough as the lone number nine against Bournemouth.
The academy graduate came off the pitch in the 59th minute with zero shots on goal, zero chances created, and only three successful passes from seven attempts.
Tuterov did not do enough on or off the ball to justify his inclusion in the starting line-up, which is why he should be dropped from the team for the trip to Lech Poznan in the Europa League.
|
Vs Bournemouth |
Chris Rigg |
|---|---|
|
Minutes |
65 |
|
Touches |
25 |
|
Shots |
0 |
|
Key passes |
0 |
|
Big chances created |
0 |
|
Dribbles attempted |
0 |
|
Passes in opposition half |
5 |
It did not help the young striker, though, that Chris Rigg played in the number ten role and offered virtually nothing creatively for the Black Cats, as he came off the pitch without any chances created in 65 minutes of play.
The England youth international did not connect the midfield and the attack, as was also the case against Torreense, and should also lose his place in the starting line-up.
Rigg and Tuterov delivered 3/10 performances, at best, for Sunderland in those key attacking positions and that meant that Le Bris’ side were unable to claw their way back into the match after they went 1-0 down early on.
They were just as bad as Alderete and Danso because of how blunt they made the team’s attack, and neither pairing should be used again in matches going forward, unless it is absolutely necessary.
