Ex-Sunderland striker Marco Gabbiadini believes Championship teams have found a method to ‘disrupt’ his previous squad. The Black Cats are fourth in the Championship table after an impressive opening 21 games of the 2024/25 season. The Wearside team has only lost three league games and remains strongly in contention for automatic promotion. Regis Le Bris’ side has only won two of their past nine games, including a stretch of five straight draws. Gabbiadini believes that one of the reasons for Sunderland’s recent drop in form is that their opponents have identified one of their weaknesses.
Marco Gabbiadini identifies ‘physicality’ as a Sunderland issue. Gabbiadini commented on Sunderland’s 3-2 victory over Swansea City, which saw Jobe Bellingham complete an incredible comeback from 2-0 down. Of course, it was nice to get three points, but the first half at Swansea.com Stadium was somewhat frightening. “I think it was an interesting game because there were different parts to it,” Gabbiadini remarked on Total Sport. “I believe that teams perceive possibilities to disrupt Sunderland rather than flaws.
Physicality, I believe, is one of them. We witnessed it with Bristol City midweek and Swansea in the first half. They were niggly and forceful, and they touched players.” And Gabbiadini is correct in his assessment of Sunderland’s lack of ‘physicality’. With Jobe Bellingham in midfield, it’s not a big deal, but Dan Neil and Chris Rigg aren’t the strongest. Salis Abdul Samed’s return from injury should be beneficial, especially against more physical competition.
Marco Gabbiadini applauds Sunderland’s character. While Gabbiadini highlighted one aspect of Sunderland’s struggles against Bristol City and Swansea, he also mentioned something they should be proud of. The Black Cats demonstrated amazing passion by recovering from losing positions to earn one point in the former and three in the latter. “They did [show character] because it was a bit disappointing midweek [against Bristol],” Gabbiadini told reporters. “They’ve had a frustrating few weeks with all those draws, and they need to keep up if they want to stay in the battle for the top two. This was a significant triumph for Swansea.” Sunderland could face another close encounter on Saturday when they host Championship top goalscorers Norwich at the Stadium of Light.
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