League One

Sunderland: Just how bad was Sunderland’s defending against Scunthorpe?

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Image for Sunderland: Just how bad was Sunderland’s defending against Scunthorpe?

While fans will likely want to forget about their result against Scunthorpe as quickly as possible, the result has brought up a lot of questions surrounding the club. A 3-0 defeat to League Two opposition is not a good look for a team who have aspirations of climbing back up into the Championship.

After the match, club fan account Roker Report posted footage of Sunderland’s awful defending from the game. It showed Abo Eisa skipping through the Sunderland defensive line without a tackle being thrown his way. The passage of play ended with the shot being hit right at goalkeeper Lee Burge. However, it could have quite easily have been another goal to Scunthorpe’s tally on the evening. But how bad was the defending against Scunthorpe?

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Sunderland weren’t necessarily out possessed during this game. They had a fair share of the possession, however, Scunthorpe did have the most. But the Irons did much more with their 56.8% possession than their League One opponents. The Black Cats allowed a whopping 16 shots to be taken by Scunthorpe. Six of those shots were on target, and as we know, three of them resulted in goals. On the flip side, Sunderland only managed to take seven shots themselves, three of which hit the target.

Their inability to close players down was shown in the footage shared by Roker Report. The defending seemed quite passive, even when Scunthorpe were closing down on goal in the penalty area. But even when Sunderland did make a defensive duel, they only won 47.69% of them. They made it quite easy for Scunthorpe to progress the ball up the field.

Another telling statistics is the Passes Per Defensive Action (PPDA). PPDA indicates the number of passes a team allows the opposition to make divided by their defensive actions. Those actions being possession-winning duels, interceptions, fouls or tackles. Wyscout defines PPDA more in-depth on their site.

Sunderland’s PPDA was 10.54, meaning Scunthorpe were allowed to complete that many passes before intervention from a Sunderland player. On the flip side, Scunthorpe’s PPDA was 7.22. This is a contrast from Sunderland from the last calendar year when they averaged a PPDA of 8.73 and their opponents combined averaged a PPDA of 9.6.

These defensive statistics should be a concern for Phil Parkinson and his management team. The players’ inability to close down their opposition and make a tackle isn’t just evident in the footage provided by Roker Report, but as clear as day in the data as well. Whether it is coaching or effort, something needs to change on the field for Sunderland.

(all data and stats from Wyscout.com, accurate at the time of writing)

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