Sunderland Stats: Danny Batth dominance and the importance of Alex Pritchard

Sunderland weren't always easy on the eye in the 3-0 win over Millwall, but what did the stats tell us?

Sunderland returned from the World Cup break with a win over Millwall at the Stadium of Light, and it was nice to be back.

Millwall will feel the 3-0 score flattered Sunderland, and anyone who watched the first half will understand why.

Sunderland won’t really care about that, though. It was a good win against a good side and a very useful three points.

Let’s have a look at some of the key stats that emerged from the game.

Amad Diallo the star man

It was another eye-catching performance from Amad Diallo that won him the man of the match award.

He scored the all-important opener and played a big role in the second too, as well as being generally brilliant to watch throughout.

His quality on the ball, though, is nothing new. The same can be said of his product, which is now something you almost expect. What we associate less with Amad Diallo is defensive work, but it was superb.

A ring-rusty Lynden Gooch had a tough first-half at right-back, and he would have been especially grateful for the protection he got from Amad. No one on the pitch won more tackles than him (3) and he had a 100% success rate there too. He also won more ground duels (10) than anyone else.

It was just an exceptional all-round performance.

Danny Batth superb - again

Tony Mowbray gave special mention to Danny Batth after the game and it is easy to see why. The former Wolves and Stoke man has proven himself to be a genuine colossus at the heart of the Sunderland defence this season, and this just might have been his best game for the club yet.

Batth made 10 clearances, one off the line, four blocks and five recoveries during the 90 minutes. However, the real headline stat was his 10/12 aerial duels won.

Just to put that into perspective, that is the same amount as the other three central defenders who started the game – O’Nien (3), Jake Cooper (2), and Charlie Cresswell (5) – won between them.

It was just a proper central defensive performance from a proper central defender on a chilly December Saturday. You love to see it.

Ellis Simms back to his best

Ellis Simms scored his fifth goal of the season late on to join Ross Stewart of the club’s top scorer this season, and it was incredibly well-deserved.

He was actually dominated in the air, winning just two headers all afternoon, but that is nothing unusual for centre forwards playing against Millwall.

However, he remained highly competitive throughout and had the better of the Millwall defence on the ground (60% success rate in ground duels). He also retained possession extremely well with a 70% pass success rate. That might not seem high, but for a striker playing up front on his own in the Championship, it is more than respectful.

It’s also worth considering that Simms didn’t really receive the best of service on the day. In fact, Sunderland failed to register a single accurate cross in the whole match, so to come away from the game with a goal and an assist is pretty good going for Simms.

The brilliantly efficient Alex Pritchard

If anyone encapsulates the theory that it’s not the quantity of touches you have but the quality, then it’s Alex Pritchard.

Pritchard touched the ball just 40 times and made just 22 passes during the match, although he was withdrawn on the hour. He was successful with 20 of those passes, though and although he didn’t get an assist for Amad’s opener, it was him who did the bulk of the work.

He got his goal too and created a couple of other chances. In short, he was just incredibly efficient and effective.

One note, though, is that he was the big culprit with regard Sunderland’s poor crossing. He attempted seven during the game and didn’t find a red and white shirt with any of them. Maybe we should give the Millwall defenders some credit there, though.

Did Sunderland miss a trick?

For a brief four-minute spell in the second half, nearly a quarter of the total players on the pitch were Sunderland academy products.

Anthony Patterson, Lynden Gooch, Dan Neil and Elliot Embleton for Sunderland, and George Honeyman for Millwall.

Honeyman started on the left for Millwall and it was a surprise when Gary Rowett subbed him off. No player on the pitch created more chances, won more tackles, or connected with more crosses.

Is George Honeyman better than the players already here? Certainly not when out of position on the left wing. He clearly still offers a lot in the Championship, though, and for me it remains a shame that he’s not offering it in red and white.

What striker crisis?

When Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms were injured and left Sunderland without a single available striker, everyone was wondering where the goals were going to come from.

Perhaps we shouldn’t have stressed at all about it, though.

Indeed, following the 3-0 win against Millwall, only the top two, Burnley (40) and Sheffield United (35), have scored more Championship goals than Sunderland (29). That is despite Stewart missing two thirds of the season and Simms missing a third of them. Superb effort and a testament to the attacking quality in the squad. 

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