Patrick Roberts fears confirmed as Sunderland suffer shock Carabao Cup exit
Patrick Roberts played a full part as Sunderland crashed out of the Carabao Cup with a surprise home defeat against Huddersfield Town on Tuesday.
Sunderland were held 1-1 by Huddersfield in 90 minutes and then went down 6-5 on penalties to exit at the second-round stage.
Harrison Jones was a rare shining light for Sunderland on a day in which too many players underperformed.
Among those was Roberts, whose Sunderland future has been called into question over the summer.
Patrick Roberts simply not good enough for Sunderland
Roberts was given a chance to prove his worth to Regis Le Bris but was unable to do so across his 90 minutes on the pitch.
While the 28-year-old did score his penalty in the shootout, he otherwise flattered to deceive as he failed to find the target from either of his two shots.
Roberts attempted numerous dribbles but was only successful from one of those, leading to frustration from the stands.
Twenty-seven minutes of Premier League football this season is certainly not enough to judge Roberts on – coming in the second half of the 2-0 loss to Burnley – but this performance only confirms the fears of many Sunderland fans.
Indeed, a quick glance at social media – and no doubt a straw poll of those inside the Stadium of Light on Tuesday – shows that many hope Roberts does not start again between now and the end of the season.
That may seem extreme, but these last two games have unfortunately highlighted that Roberts, who was always going to have a point to prove at Sunderland this season, is not of Premier League quality.
Regis Le Bris decision backfires in Carabao Cup
Le Bris named an entirely different starting XI on the back of Sunderland’s 2-0 defeat to Burnley at Turf Moor.
Huddersfield themselves made 10 changes, though, and the third-tier side took the lead inside 10 minutes through Leo Castledine’s rifled finish.
- Shots: Sunderland 17-11 Huddersfield
- Shots on target: Sunderland 4-4 Huddersfield
- Possession: 70%-30% Huddersfield
- Passes: 650-287 Huddersfield
Sunderland had plenty of time to respond and did so through Marc Guiu, but that goal from the summer arrival simply arrived too late to spark a comeback as the game went to pens.
While you can never read too much into an early cup exit when mass changes have been made, Sunderland fans have right to be annoyed at the lacklustre display.
With back-to-back defeats now registered, all of a sudden there is a lot more pressure on Saturday’s Premier League visit of Brentford.
And do not expect Roberts to be included in the starting line-up when the teamsheet for that match drops.
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