Sunderland's final friendly of their pre-season trip to Portugal ended in a 2-0 defeat against Roma. There was little between the Black Cats and Jose Mourinho's Europa Conference League winners for most of the match, but when Italians began to make substitutions their extra quality showed.
Roma had hit the woodwork in the first half through ex-Manchester United defender Chris Smalling, and did so again in the second through sub Nicolo Zaniolo. Inbetween times, Leon Dajaku had an excellent chance to put Sunderland ahead but he shot tamely at keeper Mile Svilar.
Eventually subs Felix Afena-Gyan and Zaniolo scored the goals that decided the game inside the final 15 minutes. Here's how our Sunderland writer James Hunter rated the players.
READ MORE: Sunderland 0-2 Roma match report as Black Cats end Portugal trip with a defeat
Anthony Patterson 6
A couple of decent stops but no chance with the goals
Lynden Gooch 6
Did his usual solid job when pressed into action at right-back
Danny Batth 6
Looked robust at the heart of defence
Carl Winchester 6
Played alongside Batth, but was lucky to escape with a yellow when he pulled back Zaniolo in the second half
Dennis Cirkin 6
So-so
Jay Matete 6
Worked hard in midfield, but found it tough to get on the ball
Luke O'Nien 5
Picked up a yellow card for a clumsy challenge and was later subbed rather than face a second yellow
Jack Diamond 6
A couple of flashes of skill on the right flank, but not enough
Elliot Embleton 6
No shortage of effort but Sunderland offered little going forward
Jack Clarke 6
Looked bright in his first outing since re-signing for the club on a permanent basis
Leon Dajaku 5
Played up front and fluffed Sunderland's best chance when the game was goalless
Subs
Dan Neil 6
For O'Nien 44mins. Steady in midfield
Ellis Taylor 6
For Cirkin 63mins. Fresh legs in defence
Harrison Sohna
For Embleton 63mins. A tough run-out against classy opponents
Alex Pritchard 6
For Diamond 74mins. Came on when the first goal went in and had little chance to make an impact
Patrick Roberts
For Dajaku 74mins. Same as Pritchard, the game was already drifting away from Sunderland when he came on
Not used: Carney, Richardson, Hume, Kelly, Johnson, Ballard, Evans, Spellman
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