Sunderland player ratings v Rayo Vallecano: Dan Neil shines, 3/10 star flops
Sunderland ended their pre-season campaign with a 3-0 defeat against Rayo Vallecano at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.
Jorge de Frutos scored in the first half to give the Spanish side a 1-0 lead going into the break.
Alfonso Espino and Isi Palazon found the back of the net in the second half for the La Liga outfit.
Regis Le Bris’ side got a stark reality check after beating Augsburg 1-0 on Saturday, and work is still to be done ahead of the new season.
Chris Rigg lets Le Bris down after underwhelming display vs Rayo
Rigg lost the ball after Thomas Lavery passed it to him and that saw Rayo capitalise as they opened the scoring.
It was an underwhelming performance from the 18-year-old, who has impressed for Sunderland in recent months.
These were his first pre-season minutes and he’s clearly off the pace and doesn’t appear to be ready for the new season, undoubtedly a concern for Le Bris.
It may take him a few bounce games before he’ll be ready to start and that seems likely on the other side of the international break.
Dan Neil the only shining light for Sunderland
Dan Neil was arguably the only positive for Sunderland as they absolutely got played off the park by Vallecano.
He had a decent crack at goal in the 69th minute and, apart from that, pulled the strings well from midfield.
Le Bris will be thrilled that he did not get flustered against top-flight Spanish opposition and he looks all set to start the new Premier League season.
The 23-year-old has worked tirelessly in pre-season and hopefully, he picks up from where he left off when the actual season is underway.
Sunderland player ratings v Rayo Vallecano
Anthony Patterson – 6
Thomas Lavery – 5
Nectarios Triantis – 4
Niall Huggins – 4
Chris Rigg – 3
Alan Browne – 5
Harrison Jones – 5
Dan Neil – 7
Enzo Le Fee – 6
Wilson Isidor – 5
Patrick Roberts – 4
Subs
Milan Aleksic – 5
Timur Tutierov – 6
Jenson Jones – 4
Blondy Nna Noukeu – 4
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