How Sunderland’s 'Midfield Bypass' Frustrated Man City

Seems like a few teams were suffering from some New Year celebrations in the fixtures played in the Game Week 19 on Jan 1st. Three 0-0 draws out of the four games was not up to the scoring efforts we have seen this season. Anyway, who am I to pass judgement? I am a bit late myself getting out our Game Week 19 ‘Match Pick 2’ for our analysis after New Year’s.

Lets get into it…

This clash at the Stadium of Light was as fascinating as a 0-0 draw can get. A 1-0 win either way was always a prospect and the game was on a knife edge for the whole 90 mins.

It’s rare to see a newly promoted side go toe-to-toe with Manchester City’s possession carousel and refuse to blink. But Sunderland did, with pressing and directness (read frequent long passes by-passing City’s midfield). It was a high-risk, high-reward strategy that secured a clean sheet for Sunderland against the Leagues Top Scorers.

The Anorak Observations: The Cauldron Effect

Atmosphere is a tactical tool and the Stadium of Light crowd fuelled a physically demanding system deployed by Regis Le Bris. Sunderland didn’t just defend; they harassed. By maintaining a high energy output in the first 20 minutes, they disrupted City's settling phase, forcing rare errors from the likes of Bernardo Silva and Matheus Nunes.

The Rodri Factor

The big story for City was Rodri’s return at half-time. His introduction immediately stabilised a midfield that Sunderland had successfully bypassed in the first 45 minutes, but even the world's best pivot couldn't find the killer passes through Sunderland's low-block density in the final stages. Having said that, I would think it is going to take Rodri considerable game time to get back to the lofty heights he set prior to his long term injury.

Sunderland bypassing the midfield was the key to the game. Le Bris clearly identified that trying to out-pass City in the middle third was likely to be a suicide mission.

The Indefatigable Press

Sunderland employed a Man-to-Man High Press during City’s goal kicks. Instead of dropping off, they forced Gianluigi Donnarumma to go long, which is exactly where City are less effective.

Vertical Bypassing

When Sunderland won the ball in their own half, they didn't look for a recycling pass. They often looked for the long vertical ball especially from their spine Mukiele, Xhaka and Keeper Roefs. And Brian Brobbey was usually the target man for those long passes.

The Brobbey vs Dias Duel

Brobbey used his superior physical mass to pin Rúben Dias, acting as a human wall. By winning the first contact and holding the ball, he allowed Sunderland’s wingers (Adingra and Mayenda) to sprint past City’s high defensive line, effectively removing Gonzales/Rodri and Foden from the defensive transition entirely.

The Verdict. Possession Doesn’t Always Matter

Sunderland proved that possession is a secondary metric. They had roughly 34% of the ball, but their Shot Quality in transition was high. They didn't beat City by being better at football; they beat them by being more direct and winning the physical duels in the channels.

Sunderland recorded 24 clearances and 8 blocked shots. Nordi Mukiele alone blocked a goal-bound Jérémy Doku strike with his face, if that is not putting bodies on the line, I don’t know what is. And the Sunderland fans love that and the extra 12th man support cannot be underestimated. Le Bris has to be credited for instilling this commitment into his players.

Sunderland attempted 58 long passes, completing 42% of them. While that sounds low, in the context of playing Man City, those successful long balls created 3 of Sunderland’s 4 best chances.

Erling Haaland was limited to just 19 touches in the entire match. By keeping the defensive line bravely high during the press and a disciplined low in the box, Sunderland denied him the half-space runs he thrives on.

Can Sunderland qualify for Europe by season’s end? Lets see.

All stats for this analysis are provided by Sports Reference FBref