Sunderland expert shares glaring area of ‘concern’ for Regis Le Bris’ side after 1-0 defeat vs Swansea City

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Sunderland suffered a rare home defeat to mid-table Swansea City on Saturday afternoon that illuminated one major cause for concern for the Black Cats boss.

Sunderland’s Championship play-off place was guaranteed following their 0-0 draw at Norwich in midweek, which has seen Regis Le Bris’ side enter a state of limbo.

Their mathematical safety, but lack of hope for any lingering top two aspirations, was clear on Saturday afternoon as the Black Cats suffered a 1-0 home defeat against Swansea City.

Alan Sheehan’s visitors ran out victors thanks to a goal scored just shy of the hour mark from man of the match Ben Cabango to which Sunderland failed to reply too.

Le Bris’ side were devoid of any dynamism, as they were at Carrow Road, as their regular campaign threatens to fizzle out with very little to play for during the now-inconsequential remaining four regular season fixtures.

After the game, one Sunderland journalist highlighted one of Le Bris’ major causes for “concern” that must be remedied ahead of their play-off campaign.

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Sunderland expert shares cause for “concern” after 1-0 defeat vs Swansea City

Sunderland have managed just two goals within their last five games, those being the decisive strikes against Millwall and West Brom, whilst conceding five in the process.

Against Sheehan’s Swans on Saturday, the Black Cats created only one big chance and managed only three shots on target throughout the whole afternoon. Roma loanee Enzo Le Fee was brought on off the bench and his 31-minute cameo was the only injection of creativity or spark seen by any Sunderland star.

Sunderland reporter for the Sunderland Echo Phil Smith shared a damning verdict following the Swansea defeat which bodes major concern ahead of their play-off campaign.

He told the Sunderland Echo: “It’s a bit of a concern now really that Sunderland are just struggling to carve out chances.

“We’ve rightly praised the fact that since the Coventry game (3-0 loss) before the international break, defensively they’ve been fairly solid and that was the case by and large today, but they’re not really creating much.”

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Enzo Le Fee is Sunderland’s biggest hope for success in Championship play-offs

As Sunderland remain rooted to the Championship’s fourth spot, Smith added: “There was a real lack of attacking spark, the buildup play is not convincing. There’s time to fix it but it has to be a little bit of a worry at this point.”

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LeedsLeeds	42	25	13	4	82	29	53	88
2	BurnleyBurnley	42	24	16	2	57	13	44	88
3	Sheff UtdSheffield Utd	42	26	7	9	57	33	24	83
4	SunderlandSunderland	42	21	14	7	57	37	20	77
5	Bristol CityBristol City	42	16	15	11	53	45	8	63
6	CoventryCoventry	41	18	8	15	58	53	5	62

Roma loanee Le Fee was the brightest spark on Saturday afternoon, as he was in his Canaries cameo, amid his return from the Sunderland sidelines.

The inventive Frenchman enjoyed a 91% passing accuracy, played three passes into the final third and created one chance in his 31-minute substitute showing against the Swans as he searched to create an equaliser.

Given Le Fee rivalled Neymar and Kylian Mbappe for chances created during his time in Ligue 1, the Frenchman is certainly capable of moments of magic, akin to his demolition of Boro full-back Luke Ayling prior to his injury.

With Sunderland’s goalscoring form dwindling precisely at the wrong moment ahead of the play-offs, the onus is now on the former Lorient ace to reinject some life back into the Black Cats’ attack.