Wayne Rooney wowed by ‘huge’ MOTD footage of Habib Diarra in Sunderland vs West Ham
Sunderland got off to a dream start in their return to the Premier League by thrashing West Ham 3-0 at the Stadium of Light.
The game was more than worth the eight-year wait for Sunderland supporters, who were wowed at how quickly Regis Le Bris‘ side looked to have gelled and adapted to the top-flight.
Obviously, it’s still early days, but with West Ham likely to be one of those teams floating around the relegation zone, this could be a result that Mackems look back on in May as a key reason as why they survived.
Habib Diarra was one of many debutants for the Black Cats in the game, with the midfielder impressing former England captain Wayne Rooney.
Rooney praises ‘huge threat’ in Diarra
Diarra was outstanding as part of Sunderland’s new-look midfield alongside Granit Xhaka and Noah Sadiki against the Hammers.
- Diarra missed an early chance worth 0.26 xG to give the Black Cats the lead within the opening six minutes as West Ham failed to contain the midfielder
With Diarra arriving at Sunderland for big money earlier in the summer, supporters were curious as to how he would adapt to the Premier League, but he looks to be worth every single penny so far.
Speaking on Match of the Day on 16 August, Rooney had this to say about the 21-year-old: “Diarra was a huge threat all game, his runs forward, his energy.
“There was a lot of energy about Sunderland in general all afternoon.”
- Read more: Premier League fans blown away by ‘electric’ Sunderland star who was ‘unreal’ vs West Ham
Sunderland cannot get carried away
Although the result was well deserved for a fanbase that have endured so much in recent years, Sunderland cannot afford to get carried away.
Wilson Isidor’s goal was just one example of how the Black Cats profited from some dodgy goalkeeping from West Ham’s Mads Hermansen, who had a debut to forget.
Le Bris’ men will face a lot tougher tests than this, but if they can go to Turf Moor next Saturday and pick up another result, then Sunderland will have got the best of multiple relegation rivals early on into their Premier League campaign.
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