Defoe has scored four of Sunderland’s six Premier League goals so far this season.
Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe
Sunderland forward Victor Anichebe has said the club can’t rely completely on the England striker’s goals for the club to survive in the Premier League this season, the Chronicle reports, and that the goalscoring burden needs to be shared more evenly.
Defoe is Sunderland’s stand-out threat in the final third having scored four of Sunderland’s six goals so far this season, with defender Patrick van Aanholt scoring the other two.
The Black Cats are currently bottom of the Premier League with just the two points from their opening seven games ahead of two crucial fixtures in the early stage of the season – where they travel to two sides who have struggled in Stoke City and West Ham United.
West Brom’s Victor Anichebe looks dejected after missing a chance to score
Anichebe is quoted in the Chronicle, saying: “Watching him, everyone knows he is a really good player and he has carried Sunderland for a long time.
“It is up to the team, it is up to everybody to help him, not just me.
“We need to start keeping more clean sheets too, that is the foundation and getting goals from set pieces, all these sorts of things like the rest of the Premier League teams do.
“We will work on these things and hopefully it will take some of the pressure off Jermain – even though he thrives on it!”
Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe celebrates scoring their second goal
Being reliant on just one player to fire you to safety is asking for trouble, and the Black Cats could be in even more of a sticky situation if Defoe gets injured. Anichebe is right in that more Sunderland players need to take more responsibility in front of goal. They can’t just have one or two threats throughout the season, they need to have different threats from different areas of the field.
Their defence also needs some work, and one would’ve thought that would be an area that a side managed by David Moyes would be showing signs of progress but Sunderland have yet to keep a clean sheet this season, and have been the masters of their own downfall at the back at times.
Both are areas that need to be addressed urgently for Sunderland to improve on their disappointing start.
Sunderland manager David Moyes
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