Alan Shearer names Sunderland ace in Team of the Week, he showed what they’ve been missing
Sunderland got back to winning ways on Monday with a superb 3-0 win against Burnley.
After a lightning start to the campaign, recent months have been tougher for Regis Le Bris’ side, with form not aided by six Sunderland players departing for AFCON in December.
The Black Cats fell to a 3-1 defeat against West Ham at the end of January, making a win against their fellow promoted outfit even more crucial after a run of just one win in seven Premier League outings.
An early Axel Tuanzebe own goal set the tone for the evening, with Habib Diarra and Chemsdine Talbi getting on the scoresheet to secure the three points at the Stadium of Light.
Midfielder Diarra is beginning to fully find his feet in a Sunderland shirt after missing months due to injury, before joining up with Senegal for AFCON, and Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer was full of praise for the 22-year-old.
Alan Shearer piles praise on Sunderland’s Habib Diarra
Joining the club in a record £30million transfer over the summer, Diarra arrived with high hopes, before a groin injury in September kept him out for large parts of the season’s early days.
Following his recovery, the midfielder would join up with Senegal ahead of their AFCON triumph, meaning that his start against Burnley this week was just his fifth of the season.
In his recent Premier League Team of the Week column, Newcastle icon Shearer named Diarra, saying that he: “Showed what his club were missing while he was away at AFCON.”
Believed to have opened the scoring against the Clarets in the ninth minute, his strike would go down as a Tuanzebe own goal. Though the midfielder would get on the scoresheet just over 20 minutes later, netting his first goal for the club.
Manager Le Bris was also full of praise for Diarra, saying: “It’s like a new signing for us.”
Habib Diarra can play a huge part in Sunderland’s European push
Diarra’s start to life on Wearside has been far from ideal, with so much football being missed.
However, what Le Bris now has is a fresh midfielder seemingly ready to grab the Premier League by the horns based on his performance on Monday.
After it had looked as if the steam was running out over the Christmas period, Sunderland are back to winning ways, and they will hope that the fresh impetus of Diarra, alongside the addition of Nilson Angulo can kickstart another impressive run of form.
With record signing Diarra fit and firing, Sunderland find themselves well placed to go on and pick up a European spot, with the Black Cats sitting eighth in the standings.