Sunderland: Four key talking points from the Stadium of Light - plus reaction from David Moyes

Manolo Gabbiadini scored a first-half double, with Jason Denayer’s own goal preceding a stoppage-time strike from Shane Long as the Black Cats were thrashed on home soil.

What were the main talking points from Sunderland’s defeat?

FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS

How can a team go from being so good one week to so dreadful the next? Sunderland were superb as they scored four goals in the space of 45 minutes at Selhurst Park, but seven days later, and they produced their worst display of the campaign as Southampton ran riot.

David Moyes’ side have a goal in them, so they are always capable of springing a surprise. That could yet prove crucial in the relegation run-in.

But they regularly turn in dreadful performances, and their defensive frailties mean they are always susceptible to the kind of collapse that enabled Southampton to run riot.

Perhaps the most worrying aspect of today’s display was the way in which Sunderland’s players seemed to give up in the final five minutes. The sight of Wahbi Khazri standing watching as Ryan Bertrand skipped past him in the build-up to Southampton’s third goal was an embarrassment.

GETTING THE FORMATION RIGHT

David Moyes’ switch to a five-man backline had helped make his team more solid – but that stability completely disappeared in the space of 20 minutes or so this afternoon.

Gabbiadini’s movement caused all sorts of problems in the first half, with Sunderland’s central defenders unsure of who was meant to be picking the Italian up. Similarly, no one wanted to take responsibility for dealing with Dusan Tadic when he broke into the box.

Moyes reverted to a flat back four at half-time, bringing on Steven Pienaar for John O’Shea, and pairing Lamine Kone with Denayer.

That move didn’t work either as Sunderland were repeatedly torn to shreds in the second half, with Southampton’s midfielders slicing through the Black Cats’ backline like a knife through butter.

IT HAD TO BE GABBIADINI

There was a definite sense of inevitability about the identity of the scorer of Southampton’s opening two goals. Marco Gabbiadini was a Sunderland legend in the 1980s and 90s, so the footballing gods were always going to ensure Manolo Gabbiadini did the damage in a Southampton shirt.

Marco was at the Stadium of Light today in his capacity as a radio correspondent for Radio Newcastle. He will have been tearing his hair out at Sunderland’s defending, but could only have been impressed with the quality of his namesake’s play.

Southampton’s £17m signing from Napoli pulled Sunderland’s defenders all over the place as he caused a host of problems in the penalty area.

There was an element of fortune to his first goal, with the ball rebounding off his arm after Kone failed to cut out Bertrand’s cross, but his second goal was superb as he spun between Kone and John O’Shea before slotting home.

SOUTHAMPTON SHOW UP SUNDERLAND’S ATTACKING FAULTS

The pace of Southampton’s attacking was apparent all afternoon – and showed up the deficiencies in Sunderland’s forward play at the opposite end.

Whereas Gabbiadini was constantly supported by players breaking into the box – Dusan Tadic, James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Redmond all caused problems to the Black Cats back four – Jermain Defoe was once again isolated for much of the afternoon.

Adnan Januzaj had been effective against Crystal Palace, but he offered next to nothing today as he was easily shackled by the Saints defence.

With neither Seb Larsson nor Didier Ndong breaking beyond Defoe, Sunderland’s attacking was both pedestrian and predictable. Watching Bertrand surging up and down the left-hand side, it was even possible to miss Patrick van Aanholt, who at least gave Sunderland some impetus when he was breaking from the back prior to his departure to Crystal Palace.

MANAGER’S COMMENTS:

Sunderland manager David Moyes said:  “I’m really disappointed with the way it worked out. Sometimes when the expectation has gone on us to win, that’s when we’ve fluffed our lines a bit. It happened that way today, and I’m really disappointed with the result and the performance, especially in the second half.

“We had played well for 20 or 25 minutes, maybe as well as we had played here all season, albeit without making enough opportunities. The first goal was always going to be really important because Southampton are a team that have been struggling for results. They had lost five or six of their games recently, so the first goal in today’s game was always going to be really important for both teams.

“The boy puts it in with his arm. It doesn’t touch anybody’s head or anything like that, it just goes straight in off his arm. I have to say it’s a great cross from Bertrand, and it’s maybe difficult for the referee to see it, but it goes in off his arm and no other part of his body. So that shouldn’t have been given, and it really changes the way things go.

“But we didn’t get tight enough for the second goal, we didn’t get tight enough in the box, and it put us in a situation where we had to make changes at half-time. We had to try something else. We couldn’t stick with it and try to hang in, we had to try to do something different. But the more attacking players we put on, the worse we became, that’s for sure.

“It doesn’t change anything (about the New York trip). As a manager, you try to make decisions, and you lead your football club and try to do the right things. You have to stand by your decisions. There’ll be no change."

Southampton manager Claude Puel said: “It was a fantastic game, a good game for us. It was difficult to come to a team with confidence because of their last result, but the attitude was good and we were able to produce a good game.

“Our offensive play was the difference. We played a fantastic game, and after losing all of the games before, it was important to react and give a good answer.

“It was important to win this game. We will have four days off, and the players deserve to have that time with their families. After that, we can look forward to the next game.

“We changed our formation, and that was about trying to find a solution for the game. We tried to put Dusan (Tadic) into a good position. He has good quality, and he can make the difference. It was important that he confirmed that on the pitch.”

LINE-UPS:

Sunderland (5-3-1-1): Mannone; Jones, Kone, O’Shea (Pienaar 46), Denayer, Oviedo; Ndong, Gibson (Khazri 81), Larsson (Borini 58); Januzaj; Defoe.

Subs (not used): Mika (gk), Manquillo, Lescott, Honeyman.

Southampton (4-2-3-1): Forster; Cedric, Stephens, Yoshida, Bertrand; Romeu, Davis; Ward-Prowse, Tadic (Hojbjerg 81), Redmond; Gabbiadini (Long 72).

Subs (not used): Hassen (gk), Gardos, Sims, McQueen, Rodriguez.