Sunderland ensured an important victory against Swansea as Jermain Defoe scored a hat-trick in a thrilling Wednesday night match at the Liberty Stadium.
Sam Allardyce will be delighted with the three points his side earned in Wales, sending them above Newcastle and within a point of their opposition. The visitors had an early lead when Defoe’s goal followed Lukasz Fabianski’s horrible mistake. Swansea recuperated nicely though, with Gylfi Sigurdsson scoring from the penalty spot and Andre Ayew’s fine goal coming either side of a red card to fullback Kyle Naughton.
However, Sunderland took advantage of the extra numbers on the pitch, scoring three times in the second-half. Patrick van Aanholt was lucky to see a deflected shot go into the net, while Defoe’s two goals were enough to seal a fifth Premier League win of the season.
Swansea City
Lukasz Fabianski – 4: Appalling display from the Pole, his mistake leading to Defoe’s first goal and he could have done better prior to the third.
Kyle Naughton – 5.5: Sent-off in the first-half, though was supposed to get a yellow card for an ‘open-foot’ foul.
Federico Fernandez – 5: Had to be braver prior to van Aanholt’s equalizer.
Ashley Williams – 5: Did not calm his team when needed, defense lacked shape and discipline.
Neil Taylor – 5.5: Added nice pressure in the final-third while the team had all 11 players on the pitch.
Leon Britton – 6: Had a decent game but was substituted early due to Naughton’s red card.
Ki Sung-yueng – 6: Controlled the midfield nicely in the first-half, faded out later on.
Modou Barrow – 6.5: The best player on the pitch in the early going, but in the second-half had no opportunities to be a threat again.
Gylfi Sigurdsson – 6.5: Scored a goal from the spot, but also created a couple of chances.
Wayne Routledge – 5.5: Did not have much impact on the way Swansea played.
Andre Ayew – 7: Scored a great solo goal and was a big threat in couple more chances.
Substitutions
Angel Rangel – 5.5: While on pitch, his team conceded three goals.
Bafetimbi Gomis – 5.5: Only had a decent shot from distance.
Jack Cork – N/A: Not enough time spent on the pitch.
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Sunderland
Vito Mannone – 6: A decent game for him, though he earned a yellow card naively.
Billy Jones – 6.5: A solid showing as Routledge did not test him much.
John O’Shea – 6.5: A Couple of great clearances from the box were enough to calm his teammates down.
Wes Brown – 7: Seven clearances speak enough for themselves.
Patrick van Aanholt – 8.5: Scored a goal and assisted another, while also creating great chances for teammates.
Lee Cattermole – 6.5: Solid work in the middle, with some nice long passes forward.
Yann M’Vila – 7: Ran all over the pitch with success, making some neat tackles in all areas.
Adam Johnson – 8: A great night for Johnson, assisting twice to his teammates.
Jeremain Lens – 6.5: Was trying to threaten the Swans with numerous crosses, yet not many found his teammates.
Fabio Borini – 7: A decent job in the last third, but more importantly helped van Aanholt defensively as well.
Jermain Defoe – 10: Though some of his goals were suspicious for off-side, he did score a hat-trick and all three
were from inside of the box.
Substitutions
Jack Rodwell – 6: Not much of a job for him when the Swans were already outnumbered.
Daniel Graham – N/A: Not enough time spent on the pitch.
Duncan Watmore – N/A: Did not see enough of the ball.
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