Chris Rigg Deserves Sunderland Chance After Regis Le Bris Snub In Brighton Loss
· Yahoo Sports
Sunderland midfielder Chris Rigg must have left the Stadium of Light perplexed as to why Regis Le Bris did not bring him on from the substitutes' bench during the defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Brighton beat Sunderland 2-0 with second-half goals from Maxim De Cuyper and substitute Jaouen Hadjam, in perhaps the Black Cats' poorest performance of the campaign so far.
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On Saturday, there was an alarming lack of intensity, organisation, creativity and unity; all traits which have become central to Sunderland's rise under the stewardship of Le Bris.
Since his arrival at the Stadium of Light, Le Bris' selection decisions have rarely come under the microscope from Sunderland supporters, but several of his tactical employments and substitute calls have came under scrutiny following the substandard display against the Seagulls.
One of which was his decision not to introduce Sunderland starlet Rigg during the second 45' on Saturday afternoon, which places further confusion around Le Bris' overall treatment of the 19-year-old talent in the early stages of the season.
Sunderland's Chris Rigg during the Carabao Cup win over Hull City (IMAGO / Every Second Media)Chris Rigg Deserves Sunderland Minutes After Brighton Loss
Rigg was one of the standout Sunderland players in pre-season, alongside fellow creative midfielder Enzo Le Fee, with impressive performances against the likes of Liverpool, priming the England youth international for his best campaign to date in the red-and-white stripes.
However, Rigg has surprisingly played just 17 minutes of Premier League football so far this season off the bench for Sunderland in two games, with his only start coming in the Carabao Cup win over Hull City and his last outing being his six-minute cameo in the Europa League win over AZ Alkmaar.
Against Brighton, Le Bris made some surprising substitutions, choosing to introduce inexperienced young winger Jocelin Ta Bi and 18-year-old striker Juan Riquelme Angulo for his debut, leaving Rigg once again as an unused substitute when chasing the game with a man advantage following Pascal Struijk's dismissal.
One of the most impressive aspects of Rigg's profile is that he is comfortable and effective in multiple roles, whether that be in central midfield as a 'number eight' or on the right side of midfield, where he featured impressively towards last season with a stunning strike in a 4-3 defeat at Aston Villa.
It is confusing to see Rigg under-utilised when he was in favour towards the end of last season and continuing to flourish over pre-season, and his mix of technical quality and combative nature at right midfield could have helped turn the tide in Sunderland's favour against Brighton on Saturday afternoon.
Chris Rigg in action for Sunderland vs AZ Alkmaar (IMAGO / Sportimage)Later in the game, Le Bris brought off creator-in-chief Le Fee for Angulo to go with two strikers, but to bring on a novice debutant forward when chasing the game against a rigid 10-man low block was another questionable decision, with the argument to be made that Rigg should have replaced the Frenchman to offer more intensity centrally to regain control and help to unlock the Brighton backline.
Le Bris knows Sunderland must improve in attack over the next stages of the season, and the presence of Rigg could aid the creativity on the right side of midfield, which has been blighted by the Black Cats boss' usage of trademark full-backs Trai Hume and now-injured Thomas Meunier in this role.
With a trip to Portuguese second tier side SCU Torreense up next on Thursday for Sunderland in the Europa League, it will be interesting to see whether Le Bris offers Rigg some minutes rather than persisting with defenders at right midfield, or his baffling exclusion of the Black Cats starlet continues.
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