Sunderland went ahead early in the game but their lead lasted a matter of seconds as Tottenham Hotspur equalised immediately.
Poor defending and man-marking cost Sunderland but it’s arguable that the 4-1 score-line flattered Tottenham. Sam Allardyce will also take reasonability for the defeat after his substitutions and change of tactics were the catalyst for Sunderland's downfall.
Pickford shines, defence does nothing to help him
Jordan Pickford (7): The young goalkeeper made some excellent saves in his Premier League debut and will be a huge player for Sunderland in the future. Unfortunately the England U21 shot stopper was let down by his defence and there was little he could for the goals. As well as pulling off some impressive saves, Pickford’s distribution cannot go without praise.
Billy Jones (5): The full-back looked nervy at times and was at fault for Spurs’ second goal. Although he made some good clearances in the first-half the former West Bromwich Albion man will be disappointed with his performance today, particularly in the second-half. The defender appeared to be marking his own shadow and gave the hosts far too much space.
Wes Brown (4): The veteran defender continued in centre-defence and will also be disappointed with his performance today. The 36-year-old was second to every ball and should have done better for the second goal.
John O’Shea (4): The skipper was not his usual influential self at the back and seemed anonymous at times. The Irish international seemed to run around aimlessly and should have led the line better.
Patrick van Aanholt (6): The defender continued his impressive form and posed a threat going forward. The left-back scored his third goal in three games.
Mediocre midfield
Yann M’Vila (5): The midfielder contained Spurs well in the first-half and made things difficult for the hosts. However as the game drew on the loanee struggled to make an impact.
Lee Cattermole (4): This is a game Lee Cattermole will want to forget. Like M’Vila, Cattermole held Spurs well in the first-half and they struggled to create anything, however his performance in the second wasn’t good enough. The feisty midfielder did well to get back on the line for Spurs second but should have done better when clearing rather than attempting to knee it over the bar.
Adam Johnson (6): The winger has received a lot of criticism as of late despite grabbing two assists in Sunderland's 4-2 win at Swansea but he looked more like him old self today, particularly in the first-half. He was Sunderland’s main creative source and delivered a beautiful assist to Van Aanholt for the opening goal.
Jeremain Lens (5): The Dutch winger vowed he’d continue to keep working hard earlier this week, but there was little sign of that in this game. He seemed to stroll around the pitch at a leisurely pace and looked uninterested for most parts of the game, however he did have odd burst of looking a threat when going forward but did not do it enough.
Attack fails to spark
Danny Graham (5): The fact Danny Graham started this match raised a lot of eyebrows and there were questions to as why Fabio Borini was dropped to the bench. Graham didn’t do too much wrong but he didn’t really do anything right, the striker is ineffective whilst playing in the left-wing role and that’s something Sam Allardyce must acknowledge.
Jermain Defoe (5): The in-form striker returned to his old stomping ground and much to the delight of Spurs he didn’t have an effect. The forward struggled with the long balls that were played to him and couldn’t create much else.
Substitutes prove costly
Jack Rodwell (5): The £10million midfielder continued to frustrate Sunderland fans yet again as he struggled to have any effect on the game and went unnoticed for most of the second half.
Jan Kirchhoff (3): In his first ten minutes in a Sunderland shirt the German defender have gave away a goal and a penalty. The centre-back turned away from Eriksen for the third goal and needlessly mowed down Danny Rose in the box to gift the hosts a penalty. However there will be question marks to whether the defender should have been introduced as he was not being match-fit.
Duncan Watmore (5): The striker didn’t have time to make an impact and the game was already lost when he was brought on.