Romaine Mundle flops, 8/10 superb - Sunderland player ratings vs Crystal Palace
Sunderland ran out 2-1 winners over Crystal Palace at the Stadium of Light.
It was back to Premier League action on Saturday, after Sunderland's win over Everton in the FA Cup last time out.
Regis Le Bris made four changes to his team on Saturday, with Dan Ballard, Omar Alderete, Reinildo and Brian Brobbey all coming into the starting XI, with Luke O'Nien, Dennis Cirkin, Simon Adingra and Eliezer Mayenda dropping to the bench.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace were without Marc Guehi after the centre-back has agreed to sign for Manchester City, but Jean-Philippe Mateta did start for Oliver Glasner's side.
Sunderland were beaten 3-0 by Brentford in their last league outing on 7 January, which extended the Black Cats' winless run to five league games, but they got back on track on Saturday.
Romaine Mundle fails to take starting opportunity
Perhaps one of the main surprises on Le Bris' teamsheet for Crystal Palace was the decision to stick with Romaine Mundle, after the 22-year-old played the full 120 minutes against Everton in the FA Cup.
He played well against the Toffees, and so Le Bris decided to hand Mundle his first Premier League start of the season against Palace.
However, he was largely unable to leave his impression on the football match, and apart from a few nice dribbles here and there, didn't really offer much in terms of chance creation or final product.
As such, it's won't come as much of a surprise if Le Bris reverts back to Adingra for Sunderland's next game against West Ham on 24 January.
Brian Brobbey shrugs off Crystal Palace blows to seal Sunderland win
Brobbey was once again in the wars for Sunderland, as plenty of Crystal Palace players will no doubt be taking souvenirs of his shirt back to London with them.
Indeed, the Dutchman once again had to show his physical side on Saturday, and for a player of just 23-years old, he handled the test remarkably well.
The summer signing from Ajax looks an inspired piece of business by the Black Cats, and looks every bit of a striker who can spearhead Sunderland's attack for many years to come.
And it was his emphatic finish with just under 20 minutes of the game to play that handed Sunderland a much-needed three points.
After some excellent work from Noah Sadiki to find Brobbey, Sunderland's number nine opted to strike the ball with the outside of his boot rather than go with his left.
The ball looped over Dean Henderson in the Palace net before hitting the underside of the crossbar and into the back of the net.
Sunderland player ratings
Robin Roefs - 6
Trai Hume - 6
Nordi Mukiele - 8
Dan Ballard - 7
Omar Alderete - 6
Reinildo - 7
Enzo Le Fee - 8
Granit Xhaka - 7
Noah Sadiki - 7
Romaine Mundle - 5
Brian Brobbey - 8
Subs
Eliezer Mayenda - N/A (for Brobbey, 84')
Dennis Cirkin - N/A (for Mundle, 88')
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