Sunderland rounded off their stay in Portugal with a 2-0 defeat against reigning Europa Conference League champions Roma in Albufeira. The Black Cats were well-beaten by Jose Mourinho's Serie A side, who hit the woodwork twice before subs Felix Afena-Gyan and Nicolo Zaniolo scored their goals inside the final quarter-of-an-hour.
Ex-Manchester United defender Chris Smalling rattled the post in the first period, with Zaniolo doing likewise in the second. In comparison, with no Ross Stewart as an attacking focal point, Sunderland looked toothless and they barely tested Roma keeper Mile Svilar.
The result, of course, was secondary with the priority for Alex Neil to continue building his players' fitness ahead of the new season. To that end his starting XI contained only four players who had also begun the abandoned weekend friendly against Rangers.
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Anthony Patterson, Dennis Cirkin, Luke O'Nien, and Elliot Embleton were the men retained, but two-thirds of the side was rotated to give different players a run-out. Striker Stewart played the 45 minutes against Rangers but was not even on the bench today, presumably due to injury.
And Bailey Wright only began full training on Monday after his late start back following international duty and he was also not in the squad. Jose Mourinho did not name a full-strength side, although he did include Smalling and fellow former Red Devil Nemanja Matic. Former Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham had travelled to Portugal but did not even feature on the bench.
Jack Clarke was given his first outing since rejoining Sunderland on a permanent basis over the weekend, operating wide on the left, and he almost made an early breakthough when some neat footwork on the edge of the box looked to open up a shooting chance but Roma quickly crowded him out. At the other end, a long ball over the top released Eldor Shomurodov but Anthony Patterson was quickly off his line to dive at his feet and snuff out the danger.
A couple of minutes later, Danny Batth made a good interception to prevent Shomurodov squaring to a teammate inside the box. Jack Diamond cut infield from the right and tried a left-foot shot which a defender deflected wide.
Ten minutes before the break, Roma were inches away from taking the lead when Jordan Veretout's inswinging free-kick found Smalling at the far post, but his shot came back off the right-hand post. Some needle crept into the game towards the end of the first half, with Luke O'Nien picking up a booking.
And when O'Nien then accidentally caught a Roma player with a stray arm just before half-time, Mourinho walked onto the pitch in an attempt to have him sent off, prompting Sunderland to substitute the midfielder as a precaution. In the second half, Patterson made an excellent stop from Nicola Zalewski, pushing his shot wide for a corner.
And Leon Dajaku had Sunderland's best chance of the game early in the second period, but his tame shot from the edge of the box was stopped by Svilar.
There was another call for a red card from Roma when Winchester tugged back Zaniolo when looked to have a clear run on goal, but the referee settled for a yellow. Frequent substitutions disrupted the rhythm of the second half, but Roma were in full control by now.
In the 73rd minute they hit the woodwork for the second time in the game, this time when Zaniolo beat Patterson with a shot which came back off the inside of the left-hand post and although the rebound came to a Roma player, he could not pick out a teammate. But it was only a temporary reprieve, and on 74 minutes Roma went in front, as sub Felix Afena-Gyan planted a firm shot past Patterson.
Five minutes later, the Italians doubled their lead with another rapid counter-attack and this time it was Zaniolo who applied the finish. And that meant Roma could canter through the final minutes of the match, keeping Sunderland largely at arm's length.
How they lined up
Sunderland: Patterson, Gooch, Batth, Winchester, Cirkin (Taylor 63), O'Nien (Neil 44), Matete, Diamond (Pritchard 74), Embleton (Sohna 63), Clarke, Dajaku (Roberts 74). Subs not used: Carney, Richardson, Hume, Kelly, Johnson, Ballard, Evans, Spellman
BOOKED: O'Nien, Winchester, Matete
Roma: Svilar, Ibanez (Calafiori 44), Smalling (Volpato 46), Kumbulla (Faticanti 85), Karsdorp (Celik 63), Matic (Tripi 46), Veretout (Darboe 63), Zalewski, Perez (Zaniolo 46), Shomurodov (Afena-Gyan 46), El Shaarawy (Bove 46). Subs not used: Boer, Mancini, Ivkovic
Referee: Bruno Costa
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