Sunderland lack of depth exposed by 0% Dennis Cirkin showing v Leeds United
Dennis Cirkin struggled to compose himself at Elland Road as Sunderland fell to a late 2-1 defeat against Leeds United.
Sunderland saw their promotion chances take a hit against Leeds on Monday night, with the Whites moving 10 points clear heading into the final 13 games of the season.
The defeat hasn’t ended their chances of a top-two finish entirely, but barring a miraculous falloff from the two teams leading the pack, it looks destined to be another play-off campaign for Sunderland.
Several players gave a good account of themselves, but Cirkin, who has usually been a consistent figure for Sunderland, struggled to replicate that quality against the promotion favourites.
Dennis Cirkin struggles for Sunderland v Leeds
First and foremost, Cirkin has enjoyed a fruitful campaign with Sunderland and one poor showing doesn’t define the season.
However, Cirkin certainly failed to impress against the Whites with several areas of his game falling far below his usual standards.
According to FotMob, Cirkin completed just 70 per cent of his 23 attempted passes, failing to succeed in any of his long ball attempts.
The usually attacking full-back failed to create any chances in the game while mustering up a 0 per cent success rate when it comes to completed dribbles.
Just one of his three attempted tackles resulted in the Mackems winning possession, while Cirkin lost out in eight of his 11 defensive duels.
Cirkin was also involved in a grapple inside the penalty area which resulted in Ao Tanaka going down, which on another day could have easily been awarded as a penalty.
His showing against Leeds really exposed the lack of depth that Sunderland have in the fullback areas, with only two natural defenders fit to occupy those positions.
Sunderland need to bounce back v Hull City
At this stage in the season, Sunderland have very little left to lose. A 15-point cushion on seventh-placed Coventry means it is highly unlikely they will drop out of play-off contention, while an eight-point gap from second is a challenge, but not unsalvageable.
With that in mind, the Black Cats simply have to attack the remainder of their games at full throttle and hope that the teams around them can slip up.
With Sheffield United still to face two of the top three, results could swing in the favour of the Black Cats, but if they fail to win their own games, it will have very little impact.