Paul Ince says Sunderland 'looked like Barcelona' in Reading thrashing

Sunderland put on a virtuoso display at Reading, and Paul Ince was happy to acknowledge that despite his disappointment with his own side.

Paul Ince said Sunderland ‘looked like Barcelona’ as they thrashed Reading at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

Reading struggled to survive in the Championship last season, but they have made a far better start to this campaign. They went into the match against Sunderland with a perfect home record and sitting fourth in the table, but a 3-0 defeat left them licking their wounds.

It was a result, he said, that provided a real humbling, although he didn’t want to take anything away from a fine Sunderland performance either.

“We made them look like Barcelona today against us,” Ince said. “From the first minute, we were nervous, defending deep. We didn't get into midfield, onto the second balls and we weren't competitive or aggressive enough.

“They wanted it more than us. We didn't hold the ball up up front and all the things that have got us to where we are now were not there so that's disappointing.

“This has brought us back down to earth. We have to stay in the league and to do that we have to compete and fight to win. You have to do the basics but we didn't do that. The disappointing thing is if you go back to Rotherham and Sheffield United, when we concede two goals we capitulate.”

For Ince, the difference in desire was highlighted by the fact the smallest man on the pitch, Alex Pritchard, was winning headers.

"We are mentally weak, people start doing their own thing, become individuals - and that's going back to last year,” he said. “The only way we can get results is if we do the basics right. We did nothing like that.

“We had a couple of chances but we're losing headers at the back to Pritchard who is 5ft 7in. We didn't win anything in midfield or hold anything up top. There is not one player on the pitch who can say he had a good game.”

”[Sunderland] were hungrier than us, showed more desire and determination. I won't be too harsh because if we look at it - four wins out of five at home and 15 points, you'd take it all day long. But it's the manner of the defeats I don't like and this was that time.”