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Sunderland lost 1-0 at home to Swansea on Saturday afternoon and the Black Cats supporters took to social media to share a negative assessment of one player in particular.
Sunderland were beaten 1-0 at home to Swansea on Saturday afternoon, only days after their Championship 2024/25 play-off place was mathematically guaranteed.
Regis Le Bris’ side were lacklustre with the ball throughout the second tier clash against Alan Sheehan’s visiting Swans and fell one goal behind with 58 minutes on the clock after Ben Cabango’s opener came from a set-piece.
Despite maintaining pressure throughout the second-half, the Black Cats failed to find an equaliser and fell victim to a rare defeat on home soil, thus remain rooted in fourth position in the Championship table.
The Wearside faithful took to social media during the Swansea clash to air their frustrations at one 16-touch player’s substandard first-half performance.
Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor caught offside four times in first-half vs Swansea City
Isidor has been impressive for the majority of the season since his move from Zenit St Petersburg and has become a fan favourite on Wearside after scoring a litany of spectacular strikes.
However, his last goal came in the 2-1 defeat at Leeds back in January, thus failing to find the net in his last nine Black Cats outings. It has been a concerning decline over the Frenchman considering Isidor has netted 11 times in the league prior to the loss at Elland Road.
In Saturday’s 1-0 loss at home to Swansea, Isidor was caught offside on four separate occasions in the first-half and had a goal chalked out by the linesman after he strayed ahead of the Swans’ backline to meet a Dan Neil through ball.
Sunderland supporters described Isidor’s opening 45′ performance as “woeful” and “lazy” after his persistent offsides blighted the Black Cats’ attacking rhythm.
“Isidor is so lazy. The challenge between now and the play-offs is getting him firing. Mayenda all day for me.” added one fan, as another wrote: “It’d be incredible if Isidor could start to understand the offside rule.”
“Are we 100% sure Wilson Isidor knows the offside rule?” one Sunderland fan sarcastically asked as another posted: “Woeful yet again. Isidor needs to learn how to stay onside as well.”
ITV sport reporter Simon O’Rourke said at half-time: “The game is perhaps most notable at this stage for the fact Wilson Isidor has spent the whole time offside so far.” As a fan stated: “Isidor seems a different player to earlier in the season at the moment.”
Wilson Isidor’s form must improve ahead of 2024/25 Championship play-offs
Isidor’s current form has been a major cause of concern for head coach Le Bris given how prolific the former Monaco youngster was within the first half of the campaign.
Le Bris is facing a catch-22 situation as Sunderland’s regular season curtails, with the impending play-offs bringing up the debate regarding resting some of his key players for the now-inconsequential remaining league games.
With Isidor failing to find the net since mid-February at Elland Road, the Sunderland boss is now facing another selection dilemma regarding his first-choice striker.
| Wilson Isidor | Eliezer Mayenda |
| Goals – 12 | Goals – 7 |
| Assists – 2 | Assists – 5 |
There’s an argument to be made for keeping out-of-form Isidor in the starting XI ahead of the play-offs in the hopes he can regain his best form for the season-defining fixtures.
On the other hand, with the consistently impactful Eliezer Mayenda waiting in the wings on Wearside, Isidor’s current performance levels don’t want a guaranteed starting spot that he has enjoyed throughout most of the campaign.
24-year-old Isidor’s form must return to the levels seen during the first period of the Championship campaign or the Black Cats will be a far less-feared outfit by their potential play-off opponents.