2 Up, 2 Down: Sunderland Stunned By Five-Goal Forest

SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - APRIL 24: Granit Xhaka of Sunderland and teammates appear dejected after they concede the opening goal during the Premier League match between Sunderland and Nottingham Forest at the Stadium of Light on April 24, 2026 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images) | Getty Images John Wilson says… A decent-ish start I actually think we looked quite impressive in the first ten to fifteen minutes. Everyone was up for it and the crowd was still behind the lads at 0-2 down, but it all went pear-shaped in that first half.

A bit of resilience after the break We came out fighting in the second half and all credit to the players — and also to the crowd that roused the team. There was a strong feeling of togetherness and unity in the crowd. 0-4 down and folk were shouting their hearts out.

It was defiant and tremendous but just a shame the fightback was never quite on. Some shocking Sunderland defending We pride ourselves on having a solid defence but last night, there was poor marking and challenges all across our box and it’s hard to understand how such good habits can be lost or forgotten. I’m sure they haven’t been, but the defence was very disjointed and unrecognisable from previous games.

No one player can be picked out, but I highlighted how Robin Roefs’ kicking was becoming laborious and slow at the last home game, so hopefully that’s the lesson he needed to be taught. Of course he’s an excellent keeper but hopefully he can learn from this and move the ball more quickly as he was doing when he first came into the team. Oh, Nordi I don’t know what happened at half time, but it looked like he was gesturing and arguing with fans in the East Stand.