Vito Mannone - 8
Another very good performance from Don Vito to keep the score down. More on him below.
Phil Bardsley - 3
I've no idea what was going through Bardsley's head when he gifted Shane Long the ball in the third minute. It was an stupidly awful back-pass, one which split his own defence and led to Wes Brown's red card. After that he did okay, and made a great tackle in the first half to keep it at 1-0, but didn't do enough to make up for his mistake.
Wes Brown - 1
See, I thought Wes Brown's weakness was his injury record. That that was the whole reason such a good player he was playing for us and not one of the top teams in the country. But no, he also has some issues with keeping his discipline and his temper in check. We saw this with his stupid red card against Norwich and this one, while not quite as idiotic, was certainly more costly.
Brown should have trusted his goalkeeper to make a save from Shane Long rather than bringing him down, and even if the Irishmen had scored, we would have 87 minutes to get ourselves back into it. Instead, Brown's red card all but ended our chances.
John O'Shea - 5
Was put in a very difficult position after his partner's sending off, and did okay, but should have reacted a lot quicker for Jelavic's goal.
Marcos Alonso - 6
Probably the pick of the back four, even if Elmohammady gave him some real problems, and he should have done better for the second goal. Otherwise, he got into some good attacking positions, and fired in a few excellent deliveries.
Liam Bridcutt - 7
Another promising display from Bridcutt. Most of Sunderland's good play early in the second half came through him, and made a number of key interceptions. Set up Ki for Sunderland's best chance with a clever pass.
Jack Colback - 5
After an incredible performance last weekend, Killingworth's most famous son struggled to replicate it with his team a man down. Wasteful in possession, and pretty poor.
Ki Sung-Yeung - 6
Calm in possession and made a few decent runs off Altidore. His deflected shot was the closest Sunderland came to a goal.
Adam Johnson - 7
If Sunderland ever looked like getting back into the game, it was because of Adam Johnson being on the pitch. Tried throughout to find a breakthrough, had a couple of decent efforts and went of a few good runs, but in the end it came to nothing.
Fabio Borini - 5
Was the player sacrificed after the early red card, so didn't get a chance to do anything.
Jozy Altidore - 6
Should have done better for the first goal, but did alright after that. Won his headers and led the line as well as he could. Some supporters will inevitably find a way to blame him for everything though.
Santiago Vergini - 5
Out-muscled several times, and I can't think of a joke to go along with my 'Vergini in a bottle' punchline. All in all, a pretty 'meh' league debut.
Craig Gardner - 5
Was given the thankless task of coming on with Sunderland two down. Did okay, but the game was already over.
Connor Wickham - 5
Showed some good touches after coming on.
Man of the Match - Vito Mannone
The scoreline probably would have been a lot worse if it wasn't for Mannone, who was once again faultless. Made a excellent saves from Huddlestone, Livermore, Elmohammady and a particularly great one from a Jelavic header. Also was quick to come out and intercept dangerous moves. Another very good display.