Regis Le Bris will be buzzing with ‘amazing’ Sunderland star who won 13 duels vs West Ham
Saturday marked a joyous occasion as The Stadium of Light saw Premier League football for the first time since 2017 at Sunderland.
Sunderland smashed West Ham 3-0, with the goals coming from Eliezer Mayenda, Dan Ballard, and Wilson Isidor.
Saturday also saw several competitive debuts, including Granit Xhaka, who blew away fans with a superb performance.
Fellow midfield signing Habib Diarra was described as ‘electric’ after almost opening the scoring in the first half, but it didn’t matter in the end.
Dan Ballard steals headlines after monstrous performance vs West Ham
Despite several new signings making their competitive debuts against West Ham, the man who stole many of the headlines has been at Sunderland since 2022.
Ballard joined the Black Cats from Arsenal upon the club’s promotion to the Championship, and has been a key part of the defensive core in the years since.
The arrival of Omar Alderete from Getafe has thrown some doubt over the 25-year-old’s role in the starting line-up this season, but his performance will have quietened those claims for now.
Ballard was utterly dominant at the back, often shrugging off the challenge of Niclas Fullkrug to win the ball in the air and on the ground.
- Dan Ballard was awarded the Player of the Match award following the game.
According to stats recorded by Opta, the defender won nine of his 12 duels, with eight of those coming in the air.
And on the ball, Ballard was composed, completing 84 per cent of his passes and making seven into West Ham’s final third.
The most impressive elements of the Arsenal academy graduate’s performance came in defence, though, with Ballard also recording eight clearances and four blocks – one of which denied a certain goal.
A West Ham passing move saw a great chance for El Hadji Malick Diouf on the edge of the box, and the Senegal international looked to have taken it perfectly, before the sliding presence of Ballard emerged to clear off the line and away.
Premier League pundit remarks on ‘absolutely amazing header’
In many ways, it was fitting for the defender to score on the opening day, with his winning goal against Coventry in the play-off semi-final last season proving key in the push for Premier League promotion.
That goal looked to come off the shoulder of Ballard, but there was no doubt that it was off the head against West Ham.
Simon Adingra picked up the ball on the right, looked up and saw the defender streaming into the box and past Lucas Paqueta.
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With that, he delivered a brilliant cross that Ballard powered into the bottom corner.
Speaking via the Premier League on 16 August, former midfielder Don Hutchison said: “Absolutely amazing header this from big Dan Ballard. What a ball from Adingra from the right-hand side.
“I was critical of the goalkeeper for the first goal, but not this one, what a header.”
Ballard is here to stay for Le Bris.
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