German Media slam ex-Sunderland star after ‘poor’ Champions League start

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German media have torn into a former Sunderland player after his first start for his new club in the Champions League.

The Black Cats are flying high in the league following their return to the top-flight and are currently sitting in fifth place in the table.

Omar Alderete scored the only goal of the game to secure a 1-0 win away at Nottingham Forest last time out.

Following an extensive summer rebuild, during which 14 new faces arrived at the Stadium of Light, totalling an approximate spend of £163 million, Regis Le Bris has significantly improved his squad.

And the Frenchman’s decisions have been validated, as one player he sold this summer is enduring a torrid time at his new club.

Jobe Bellingham had an underwhelming night in the Champions League

Jobe Bellingham departed Sunderland in a £27 million deal with Borussia Dortmund after playing an integral role in returning his former club to the Premier League.

The 20-year-old followed in his brother Jude’s footsteps in continuing his development at the Signal Iduna Park, and his sale allowed Le Bris to reinvest the funds into his Sunderland squad.

However, his spell in Germany has not started as he had hoped. And after being granted limited opportunities under Niko Kovac, he was allowed a chance to impress in the Champions League, and he has squandered it.

German news outlet Ran gave the midfielder a 5-match rating, the worst in the Dortmund squad, writing: “Another poor performance from the Englishman, who had few notable ideas with the ball and was repeatedly outplayed defensively. The game was more of a by-product than a significant help. After 69 minutes, his workday was over.”

Spox also gave Bellingham the worst rating with a rating of 4: “The new signing celebrated his Champions League debut in the starting eleven, beginning with a misplaced pass after two minutes, which Bilbao failed to capitalize on. Good: Bellingham had won the most ball for Dortmund at halftime (5).

“Bad: He also had the third-most turnovers (9, 12 in total). Overall, he needs to put a bit more pressure on the ball carrier and be more dominant in one-on-one duels. His performance was hardly a case for a starting place.”

Jude backed Jobe to be a success in the Champions League following his debut off the bench in the 4-4 draw against Juventus to kickstart their campaign.

But that has not proved to be the case thus far, with Sport 1 joining the other media outlets in handing Jobe the lowest rating among the Dortmund squad, with a 4.5: “He often went too fast in his Champions League debut. His lack of rhythm was noticeable. But he also had some good moves, distributions, and diagonal passes, such as to Ryerson (10th minute). He moved too slowly to the crosser when Bilbao pulled one back. He still needs to improve.”

Granit Xhaka has replaced Jobe Bellingham at Sunderland

While Jobe is struggling to find his feet in Germany, his replacement, Granit Xhaka, is thriving at the Stadium of Light.

Xhaka has become integral for Sunderland since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen this summer and has established himself as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League based on current form.

Losing Jobe was a significant blow for Le Bris, but the Black Cats boss will be more than pleased with how his new-look squad has responded to their return to the top-flight.

And with Xhaka chasing down league leader Jack Grealish in the assist charts, Sunderland are arguably a more complete squad without the English prospect.