It was Championship playoff heartache again for Frank Lampard as his Coventry City team lost 3-2 on aggregate to Sunderland in the semi-finals of the competition. Lampard had previously taken Derby County to the final of the playoffs in 2019, where his side fell to a defeat to Aston Villa. Sunderland will go on to face Sheffield United in this year's final on May 24 for a chance to return to the Premier League.
Sunderland–Coventry City Championship player ratings
Below, we're rating the Sunderland players on a scale of 1 to 10.
Goalkeeper and defenders
Anthony Patterson (GK): 6
Patterson was not called into action too much as Coventry were wayward with their chances. He could do little about Ephron Mason-Clark's finish.
Trai Hume (RB): 7
Hume did allow Jack Rudoni too much space on one occasion. He tested Ben Wilson with a volleyed effort, linked up well with his teammates and made some important challenges. However, he lost Mason-Clark, who scored for Coventry. Hume did make amends by putting in the cross from which Sunderland's goal came.
Dan Ballard (CB): 8
Ballard had a challenging evening up against USMNT forward Haji Wright. However, Ballard had the last laugh by heading in the goal that sealed the win.
Luke O'Nien (CB): 8
Solid defensively and was able to have an impact going forward with his fine passing. Nearly got an assist with a long ball up to Hume. He led by example and calmed his side down after Coventry's goal.
Dennis Cirkin (LB): 6
Cirkin struggled against the pace of Tatsuhiro Sakamoto. Leo Fuhr Hjelde came on for Cirkin to waste time after Sunderland had scored.
Midfielders
Patrick Roberts (RM): 6
Roberts put in a disciplined display, and he was replaced by Romaine Mundle in extra time. Mundle had a great chance to score from Chris Rigg's low cross.
Dan Neil (CM): 7
Dan Neil's short and long passing was excellent. The captain put in an exemplary performance.
Jobe Bellingham (CM); 7
The brother of the Real Madrid star put in a box-to-box performance. At just 19 years old, Bellingham has become a real leader for Sunderland.
Enzo Le Fee (LM): 8
The Frenchman worked some clever set-piece routines, including the corner that Ballard scored from.
Forwards
Eliezer Mayenda (CF): 7
Mayenda was always willing to drive at the Coventry defence and tested Wilson early on. Former Sunderland attacker and current Manchester United player Amad Diallo was watching on from the stands and would have been proud of Mayenda's performance.
Wilson Isidor (CF): 5
Isidor could not get on the end of Neil's long pass, but should have been embarrassed by the play acting he produced after getting minimal contact from Wilson. Rigg came on for Isodor in the 83rd minute, and the young midfielder added some much-needed creativity.
Substitutes
- Chris Rigg, 7/10
- Romaine Mundle, 6/10
- Leo Fuhr Hjelde, N/A