A year ago, Sunderland were clawing for promotion, their fans daring to dream of Premier League football again.
Fast forward twelve months, and those same fans are watching their team take down Club World Cup champions Chelsea and sit just two points behind leaders Arsenal. The phrase “dream start” doesn’t quite cut it anymore.
With 17 points from nine matches, Regis le Bris’ men have bulldozed the expectations that newly promoted clubs are supposed to struggle. They’ve also silenced critics who said their transfer splurge—£161 million on 15 new players—would destabilize the squad. Instead, the Black Cats look like they’ve been here all along.
To understand the scale of this, remember Sunderland’s path back to the top. They finished 24 points behind Burnley and Leeds last season and scraped through the play-offs, twice needing injury-time winners to make it. At Wembley, they overturned Sheffield United’s lead to reclaim their top-flight place after eight years in exile. That grit hasn’t gone anywhere.
Former Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick summed it up neatly after their win at Stamford Bridge: “No one expected Sunderland to start this well. They looked calm, dangerous, and in control. It’s a textbook away win at a bigger club.”
The turnaround isn’t just about goals and results—it’s about attitude. Sunderland don’t monopolize possession; their 42.5 percent average is among the league’s lowest. Yet only Arsenal and Manchester City have conceded fewer goals. Their defensive shape and work rate are textbook Le Bris: compact, disciplined, and relentless.
“The togetherness, the ability to defend and suffer together—this is our identity,” Le Bris said post-match. “Everyone contributes, starters and finishers. We work hard and play good football.”
Even the dressing room harmony, usually the first casualty of mass signings, seems intact. Sunderland’s ruthlessness in rebuilding their squad hasn’t fractured morale—it’s fueled it.
At the center of this renaissance stands Granit Xhaka, the 33-year-old ex-Arsenal captain. His decision to swap Bayer Leverkusen for the North East raised eyebrows, but he’s been colossal: leading in assists, passes, duels, and chances created.
Sunderland are rewriting the rulebook for newly promoted teams—not just surviving, but competing. A year after clawing their way out of the Championship, they now look ready to make the Premier League nervous.
