Paul Merson witnesses an all-time low at Sky Sports in Sunderland draw vs Brighton
Paul Merson was not pleased with what he saw in Sunderland's draw against Brighton on Saturday.
Sunderland shared the points with Brighton in a 0-0 draw at the Amex Stadium, which lifted the Mackems into a top-six place in the Premier League.
Dan Ballard caused uproar with a second-half challenge on Brighton's Charalampos Kostoulas, where the Sunderland defender may gotten away with one.
Nevertheless, Regis Le Bris won't care as it's another point to build on for the Black Cats.
However, former Arsenal midfielder Merson couldn't believe what he was watching from the two sides.
Paul Merson makes 'worst ever' claim for Sunderland vs Brighton game
Sunderland had to deal with losing players to the African Cup of Nations coming into the match, and were able to show off their strength in depth.
Chris Rigg came in for a start, as Simon Adingra was also given a chance to impress.
A fairly shuffled Sunderland side still managed to create chances, and so did Brighton, but both sides lacked any ruthlessness in front of goal.
- There was a combined xG of 2.68 in the game, but no goals
- Sunderland created two big chances
- In the match, only 33% of combined shots from both teams were on target
While speaking at full-time Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday, Simon Thomas relayed what he heard Merson say - and it's fair to say the latter was left unimpressed by the quality in the match.
Thomas said: "Merse just uttered the immortal words 'in 19 years of doing this show, that's the worst game I've ever seen'."
While it may be a harsh take, Merson has certainly highlighted something that may bring up broader concerns from a Sunderland perspective.
Just how much will Sunderland suffer from AFCON?
While Sunderland had the opportunity to take all three points back home, the Seagulls could have easily stolen the win.
The Mackems are going to need to get back to winning ways fairly soon, otherwise momentum will begin to tailor off.
| Game | Date |
| Sunderland vs Leeds | 28 December |
| Sunderland vs Manchester City | 1 Janaury |
| Tottenham vs Sunderland | 4 January |
Thankfully, the Mackems still have the likes of Granit Xhaka and Nordi Mukiele available, but Le Bris is missing key players in important areas.
The next couple of matches will prove how costly Sunderland's AFCON absentees will be, as the Mackems will be hoping to gain as many points as possible to keep the European dream alive.
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