SUNDERLAND. Sunderland beats Portsmouth 1-0 after E. Embleton scored just 1 goal (40′).

The match was played at the Stadium of Light stadium in Sunderland on Saturday and it started at 3:00 pm local time. The referee was David Rock with the help of Hristo Karaivanov and Chris Isherwood. The 4th official was Robert Madley. The weather was cloudy. The temperature was cold at 7.4 degrees Celsius or 45.37 Fahrenheit. The humidity was 85%.​

Match Statistics​

Ball possession

None of the teams had a clear upper hand in terms of ball possession. Sunderland was in possession of the ball for 49% of the time vs. Portsmouth that controlled the ball for 51% of the time.

Attitude and shots

Sunderland was putting more pressure with 53 dangerous attacks and 8 shots of which 4 were on target. This is one of the reasons why Sunderland won the match​.

Sunderland shot 8 times, 4 on target, 4 off target. Regarding the opposition, Portsmouth shot 13 times, 1 on target, 12 off target.

Cards

Sunderland received 1 yellow card (T. Flanagan). Talking about the opposition, Portsmouth received 2 yellow cards (M. Romeo and S. Williams).

Standings

After playing this contest, Sunderland will have 54 points like Wigan Athletic to remain in the 2nd place. On the other side, Portsmouth will stay with 38 points like Ipswich Town to sit in the 10th place.

Next matches

In the next match in the League One, Sunderland will play away against Bolton Wanderers on the 29th of January with a 8-5 head to head record in favor of Sunderland (7 draws).

Portsmouth will host Charlton Athletic on the 31st of January with a 7-3 head to head record in favor of Charlton Athletic (1 draw).

Sunderland – Formation

Sunderland started with an extremely aggressive line-up (3-4-3).

The manager Lee Johnson decided to play with the following team: Ron-Thorben Hoffmann (6.8), Tom Flanagan (6.2), Danny Batth (7.6), Callum Doyle (7.4), Lynden Gooch (6.3), Corry Evans (7.4), Daniel Neil (6.8), Dennis Cirkin (7.2), Elliot Embleton (7.4), Ross Stewart (8.1) and Leon Dajaku (6.8).

The home team had on the bench: A. Patterson, B. Mbunga-Kimpioka, J. Diamond, T. Hume, A. Xhemajli, Aiden O’Brien and Carl Winchester (6.4).

Substitutions

Sunderland made 2 changes: E. Embleton for C. Winchester (83′) and L. Dajaku for A. O’Brien (88′).

Best player: Ross Stewart​

Following our analysis, the most impressive player for Sunderland was Ross Stewart even if he didn’t score the decisive goal.

His rating is (8.1) with 27 passes (62% accurate) and 3 key passes. He was won 11 duels out of 17.

Portsmouth – Formation

Portsmouth started with a 3-4-1-2 line-up (3-4-1-2).

Danny Cowley played with: Gavin Bazunu (6.8), Hayden Carter (6.4), Sean Raggett (6.4), Clark Robertson (6.8), Mahlon Romeo (6.5), Joe Morrell (6.7), Louis Thompson (6.7), Reeco Hackett-Fairchild (6.9), Marcus Harness (6.4), Tyler Walker (7.1) and Ronan Curtis (7.3).

These were the players on the bench: George Hirst (6.7), T. Steward, L. Brown, K. Freeman, C. Ogilvie, Shaun Williams (6.7) and Michael Jacobs (6.9).

Substitutions

Portsmouth made 3 changes: L. Thompson for S. Williams (71′), R. Curtis for G. Hirst (71′) and C. Robertson for M. Jacobs (78′).

Best player: Ronan Curtis​

The most impressive player for Portsmouth was Ronan Curtis.

His rating is (7.3) with 22 passes (54% accurate) and 1 key pass. He was won 14 duels out of 26. He performed 1 cross.

Results of the day

These are the results of the day in the League One.​

• Burton Albion – AFC Wimbledon – 1-1
• Cambridge United – Crewe Alexandra – 1-0
• Charlton Athletic – Fleetwood Town – 2-0
• Ipswich Town – Accrington Stanley – 2-1
• Milton Keynes Dons – Doncaster Rovers – 0-1
• Morecambe – Wycombe Wanderers – 3-2
• Oxford United – Sheffield Wednesday – 3-2
• Plymouth Argyle – Lincoln City – 1-2
• Rotherham United – Cheltenham Town – 1-0
• Shrewsbury Town – Bolton Wanderers – 0-1
• Sunderland – Portsmouth – 1-0
• Wigan Athletic – Gillingham – 3-2