At its lowest point at the time of the Netflix documentary Sunderland Till I Die, the red and white club has since undergone great development. Far from its double descent from the Premier League to League One between 2016 and 2018, Sunderland has shown a better face since. The Black Cats achieved their return to the English elite last season under the orders of RĂ©gis Le Bris. The former Lorient coach is doing even stronger this season since the team owned by Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is in fourth place after 11 days. The Tyne and Wear team is surprising in a championship where the last six promoted teams have been relegated. With 19 points already obtained, Sunderland seem to have done the hardest part in the maintenance operation and are surely halfway there.
Having already claimed the scalp of Chelsea (2-1) during the season, Sunderland impressed again this Saturday by obtaining a valuable draw against Arsenal (2-2). A true fortress at the start of the season, Arsenal had not conceded more than one goal in a match since May 11 and had only dropped points against Liverpool, the outgoing champion (1-0 defeat) and in the 1-1 draw against Manchester City (champion in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024). Doing as well as two contenders for the title and places in the Champions League, a real achievement for Sunderland who defied the predictions. First scorer of the match, Daniel Ballard ended an unbeaten run of 812 minutes for the Gunners and their goalkeeper David Raya. Invincible at the start of the season in its Stadium of Light, Sunderland relies in particular on an iron defense, the third in the Kingdom after Arsenal and Manchester City since it has only conceded 10 goals. Sunderland also have the best start to a promotion in the Premier League for 17 years and Hull City during the 2008/2009 season. The Tigers then suffered but held on with a 17th place.
An iron defense, RĂ©gis Le Bris as an architect
Finding great chemistry with a fairly compact 5-4-1, Régis Le Bris can rely on a defensive trio in great shape. In addition to Dan Ballard who was already at the club, Lutsharel Geertruida (RB Leipzig) and Nordi Mukiele (Paris Saint-Germain) arrived this summer and the two versatile right-backs thrive in a central defender position. The latter is also named among the contenders for the title of player of the month for October. Goalkeeper Robin Roefs is a revelation of the championship and has the best save percentage (80%) of an under-23 goalkeeper in Europe. In the corridors, the pistons Trai Hume and Reinildo Mandava (ex-Atlético de Madrid) are unanimous while in the middle Granit Xhaka has wonderfully replaced Jobe Bellingham who joined Borussia Dortmund. Experienced, the Swiss is a real boss for this team and remains efficient whether he is associated with Habib Diarra or Noah Sadiki. Chemssdine Talbi and Bertrand Traoré alternate in the right lane while on the left Enzo Le Fée and Simon Adingra also compete. Up front, French striker Wilson Isidor, who already has 4 goals, shines brightly.
The transfer window was rather profitable with 187.9 million euros invested for a solid return. Indeed, if we take into account the cost of the players recruited who make up the Sunderland squad and the number of points obtained, the Black Cats are at the top of the Premier League with an expenditure of €11M per points acquired. For comparison, leader Arsenal is eleventh with €37m. A clever mix of experienced players and young, long-toothed players, Sunderland has the second youngest team in the Premier League (25.1 years on average) behind Chelsea. We also find many former Ligue 1 players with Reinildo Mandava (Lille), Arthur Masuaku (Valenciennes), Timothée Pembélé (Le Havre), Nordi Mukiele (PSG), Habib Diarra (Strasbourg), Enzo Le Fée (Rennes), Bertrand Traoré (Olympique Lyonnais) and even Wilson Isidor (AS Monaco) in a team whose coach Régis Le Bris was relegated with Lorient to Ligue 2 a year and a half ago. This does not seem to disturb the Black Cats, whose coach Régis Le Bris has made a sensational debut in the Premier League, having only spent two years as number one at Lorient and one season in the Championship during the last financial year. An inexperience at this level of competition which is not felt by the one who was nominated for the title of manager of the month in September and October.
“Honestly, I think there were several factors that allowed us to make this decision with confidence. Régis was coming off a very disappointing period at Lorient, where he was relegated with the team. His choice was therefore surprising, but for us, the two essential qualities were calm – and I am sure you feel it every time you speak to him, which is essential in a club like ours, where ups and downs are frequent – ​​and the meticulousness he shows on a daily basis. I had never seen anything like it. When he presented his working method to us, we were very impressed. His humility and calm convinced us that this would be an excellent association, and so far, everything is going well.confided to Sky Sports president and owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus. The club structure is also interesting with the appointment of Florent Ghisolfi as director of football on July 2, which allowed us to move forward calmly in the transfer window. Responsible for the performance, the American Shad Forsythe is also a star who shone with Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund but especially the German selection during the 2014 World Cup. However, the hardest part is coming for Sunderland, confirm. The English club has in its ranks 7 important players who will normally be involved in the Africa Cup of Nations with Reinildo (Mozambique), Arthur Masuaku and Noah Sadiki (DR Congo), Habib Diarra (Senegal), Chemssdine Talbi (Morocco), Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast) and Bertrand Traoré (Burkina Faso). In addition, the schedule promises to be busy over the next two months with two confrontations against Manchester City, trips to Liverpool, Brighton and Tottenham as well as receptions at Bournemouth and Newcastle. However, nothing that worries the nice surprise of this start of the season in the Premier League.
