Sunderland’s 5’10” ace dominated Blackburn with Jack Clarke.
On Wednesday night, the central midfielder made an impression for Tony Mowbray.
Sunderland made it three wins in a row in the Championship with a 3-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday night at Ewood Park.
Tony Mowbray’s club has climbed up to fourth place in the league table and will welcome Cardiff City at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.
How did Jack Clarke fare in his match against Blackburn?
Former Tottenham Hotspur winger Jack Clarke stole the show for the Black Cats, scoring two of the team’s three goals to seal the victory.
The English forward opened the scoring from 12 yards after winning a penalty, putting Sunderland ahead, and then added a third and final goal in the second half with a calm finish after Alex Pritchard set him away down the channel.
According to Sofascore, Clarke made three important passes and won 15 duels during the game, including six successful dribbles out of seven attempted.
The 22-year-old ace also worked hard defensively to reclaim control for the club. He contributed two tackles and two interceptions to his defense, demonstrating his willingness to chase back and disrupt opposing attacks.
Dan Neil, an ex-Leeds United prospect, dominated Blackburn in the middle of the park for Mowbray throughout the game.
Dan Neil won how many tackles against Blackburn?
Sunderland’s academy product was a defensive force of nature, winning five tackles and making three interceptions in 90 minutes.
According to Sofascore, Neil won eight of his eleven duels (73%) and made one clearing in addition to his other defensive contributions. None of his teammates had more tackles than the 21-year-old standout, and only Jobe Bellingham (four interceptions) had more.
This demonstrates that the gifted kid dominated Blackburn on the night, winning the great majority of his battles and being the outstanding destroyer out of possession for Mowbray with his ability to frequently break up the play.
Of course, the technical dynamo scored as well, with a fantastic finish from the edge of the box. After the ball fell his way from a distance, he controlled wonderfully before reaching the bottom corner.
Neil also completed three of his five attempted dribbles and had an 82% pass success percentage, according to Sofascore. He created quality possession moments, such as beating a defender with the ball at his feet, and capped it off with his goal, which made it 2-1 at the time.
The 5 foot 10 battler was excellent for Sunderland and rightly achieved the match’s second-highest Sofascore rating (7.9) behind Clarke (9.5), demonstrating how brilliantly he performed in comparison to the rest of Mowbray’s men on the pitch.
Neil will hopefully be able to maintain this level of performance in the upcoming games and then throughout the rest of the season, as he has the ability to impact games at both ends of the field with his ball-striking ability and knack for breaking up play.
