SUNDERLAND’S miserable start to the season continued as they threw away a two-goal lead to crash to a 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace.

Jermain Defoe scored twice to fire the Black Cats into a two-goal lead, but Joe Ledley and James McArthur fired Palace back onto level terms before Christian Benteke’s stoppage-time header ensured Alan Pardew’s side took all three points.

What were the key talking points at the Stadium of Light?


SUNDERLAND’S SOFT UNDERBELLY ONCE AGAIN PROVES COSTLY

The Northern Echo:

If a side can’t see out a game when they’re leading by two goals with half-an-hour left, it’s hard to see how they are ever going to claim all three points. Sunderland’s defensive collapse in the final 30 minutes was alarming, but it can hardly be said to have been unexpected.

The Black Cats have defended poorly for the vast majority of the season, with today’s game meaning they have now conceded at least two goals in four of their six league matches this term.

Their latest defeat might have been easier to stomach had Palace scored three world-class goals; instead, all three strikes were extremely soft from a Sunderland perspective.

Patrick van Aanholt stood off Ledley as he scored Palace’s first, and was easily out-jumped by McArthur as the visitors levelled. Benteke’s stoppage-time strike was especially poor from the point of view of the hosts, with Javier Manquillo conceding a cheap free-kick in a dangerous position, and Jan Kirchhoff switching off on the edge of his own six-yard box.


JERMAIN DEFOE REMAINS SUNDERLAND’S BEST CHANCE OF SURVIVAL

The Northern Echo:

It is chastening to imagine where Sunderland would be if they did not have Defoe in their team. The striker was the key figure in last season’s successful survival push, and once again looks like being absolutely crucial to the Black Cats’ prospects this term.

His first goal was the result of his predatory skills, as he anticipated Ledley’s mishit back-pass before slotting a crisp low finish past Steve Mandanda.

His second was a classic striker’s goal, with Defoe pouncing on Duncan Watmore’s deflected cross before lashing home a first-time strike.

The former England international went close on two further occasions, once shortly before he scored his second goal and then again with the score at 2-1, and he remains one of the most effective finishers in the Premier League. If Sunderland can tighten up defensively, Defoe’s abilities will always give them a chance of picking up points.


DID A DIFFICULT WEEK CATCH UP WITH VAN AANHOLT

The Northern Echo:

This must have been an extremely challenging six days for van Aanholt. Last weekend, he found himself withdrawn from the starting line-up at White Hart Lane following some abnormal heart results, with his health issues dominating the news agenda on Wearside for much of the week.

To make matters worse, he then found himself splashed across the back page of The Sun for allegedly smoking from a shisha pipe, with David Moyes condemning his actions in his press conference on Friday.

Was van Aanholt in the right frame of mind to have started today’s game? It didn’t look that way for much of the afternoon, with the Dutchman producing an uncharacteristically poor display that was littered with errors.

He failed to close down Ledley as the Welshman’s strike was deflected into the net, and then found himself easily out-jumped as McArthur headed home Palace’s equaliser. Moyes will have to monitor his mood closely over the next seven days ahead of next weekend’s home game with West Brom.


ANOTHER AWFUL START LEAVES SUNDERLAND ON THE BACK FOOT

The Northern Echo:

With next weekend’s game against West Brom taking place on October 1, Sunderland are now guaranteed to have gone through another August and September without recording a league victory.

It is 2012 since the Black Cats last won a league game in either August or September, a dreadful record that has left them playing catch up in each of the last three seasons.

They are in that position again, despite Sam Allardyce having finished last season insisting that his main summer priority was to ensure his side did not suffer their usual slow start in the opening two months of the current campaign.

A lot has changed since Allardyce addressed the media after the final game of last season, but Sunderland’s inability to hit the ground running has remained resolutely unaltered. Six games in, and it already feels as though the Black Cats are embroiled in a relegation battle.


MANAGER’S REACTION:

The Northern Echo:

Sunderland boss David Moyes said: “Nothing really changed - we were still one goal ahead after they scored (their first). We had not played well enough to be 2-0 up though.

“But for us not to do the basics well enough - not to clear the ball, the full-back (van Aanholt) not to cover at the far post, for us to not go with Benteke when we give away a poor free-kick in last minute - Benteke is best header of a ball in the Premier League.

“The players did not take responsibility and we deserve to be bottom. But this club has been here many times before around this position.

“I’ve seen a striker in Defoe who can score. But at the moment we’re not doing enough defensively. We need to defend better and our worst defensive performances are coming at home. We need to get a better team, it is as simple as that. 

The Northern Echo:

Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew said: “We play a style where we take chances but we're playing with such confidence I didn't see us making a mistake at the back.

“That last third is an area we've really worked on so for Joe (Ledley) to make a mistake was really galling.

“The second goal was probably Sunderland's best spell, that five, six-minute period – I think it was offside, by the way. I was sat on the sideline scratching my head, but before I could have any thought process it was 2-1, then I felt really confident we could get something out of the game.

“It was a terrific victory for us in the end which looked like being a defeat.”


TEAM LINE-UPS:

Sunderland (4-3-3): Pickford; Manquillo, Kone, Djilobodji, van Aanholt; Ndong, Kirchhoff, Cattermole (McNair 85); Januzaj (Anichebe 85), Defoe, Pienaar (Watmore 15).

Subs (not used): Mika (gk), Denayer, O’Shea, Khzari.

Crystal Palace (4-1-4-1): Mandanda; Ward, Tomkins, Delaney, Kelly (Fryers 75); Ledley; Puncheon (Lee 90), McArthur, Cabaye (Wickham 72), Townsend; C Benteke.

Subs (not used): Hennessey (gk), Wynter, Mutch, Sako.