Why Sunderland’s Success Matters For The Premier League At Large

Last season, each 3 promoted sides successful nan Premier League were relegated. The play earlier that, each 3 promoted sides were relegated. The fearfulness was that nan gulf betwixt nan Premier League and Championship had go excessively big, pinch nan expanding stratification of nan English crippled fundamentally making it intolerable for nan promoted sides to survive, overmuch little to thrive. It’s a self-perpetuating issue; nan longer nan different 17 stay successful nan Premier League, fattened connected tv rights, nan harder it will beryllium for teams coming up to make an impression.

There was a request for nan promoted sides to put up a amended conflict than they managed past play when, betwixt them, Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton collected conscionable 59 points. Nine games into this season, not rather a 4th of nan measurement through, Sunderland, Leeds and Burnley already person 38 points betwixt them. None of nan 3 are presently successful nan relegation zone. But astir striking person been nan performances of Sunderland, who person taken 17 points already and, to wide surprise, dishonesty 4th successful nan table.

Their fixture list, it should beryllium said, has been kind. Looking astatine nan array connected Saturday morning, Sunderland had faced only 1 broadside successful nan apical half. Starting pinch a location crippled against West Ham was astir arsenic gentle arsenic introductions come. They faced Nottingham Forest erstwhile they were locked successful nan strange Ange Postecoglou slump, and Aston Villa erstwhile they were still successful their early-season funk. They’ve besides beaten Brentford and Wolves astatine home.

Defeat astatine Manchester United earlier nan world break suggested they mightiness struggle against amended opponents, which was why Saturday’s crippled astatine Chelsea was truthful important. Could they triumph away? Could they situation nan elite? Was their affirmative commencement an illusion created by nan fixture list? As they went 1-0 down wrong 4 minutes, nan signs were not good. But they battled back, equalized midway done nan half and won it pinch a classical counterattack successful injury-time. A smash-and-grab? Not really: Sunderland had nan amended xG.

Against Villa erstwhile nan left-back Reinildo was sent disconnected and against United having gone 2-0 down, Sunderland had switched to 3 astatine nan back. At Stamford Bridge, head Régis Le Bris started pinch a 5-4-1, contempt nan wounded to centre-back Omar Alderete, who has been possibly their top triumph of recruitment, a reliable but prestigious ball-playing centre-back discovered astatine Getafe. That meant Dan Ballard successful nan mediate pinch Nordi Mukiele to his correct (it’s frankly inexplicable that a cardinal defender of specified value joined Sunderland from Paris Saint-Germain for conscionable £9.5m ($12.6m) positive £2.5m ($3.3m) successful imaginable add-ons) and nan on-loan Lutsharel Geertruida to his left. Geertruida was a full-back successful Arne Slot’s title-winning Feyenoord broadside successful nan Netherlands, and until Saturday had played successful midfield for Sunderland.

Having 2 players truthful comfortable connected nan shot successful nan backmost 3 allowed them to measurement up and shape an other man successful midfield wherever necessary. The style was 5-4-1, which Chelsea recovered highly difficult to break down, but it wasn’t a passive system. Rather, erstwhile Sunderland chose to property they did truthful pinch ferocious conviction, inspired by Noah Sadiki, whose singular stamina has drawn comparison pinch N’Golo Kanté. In a young side, midfielder Granit Xhaka has emerged arsenic a existent leader, a subordinate of value and incisiveness but besides steel.

Sunderland person benefited, clearly, from spending £160m ($213m) connected 13 imperishable signings successful nan summer, though they besides raised £45m ($60m) successful sales, astir notably Jobe Bellingham to Borussia Dortmund. But they person spent wisely. Last season, arsenic he oversaw nan 2nd portion of Southampton’s descent backmost into nan Championship, Ivan Jurić observed that he had expected his players to beryllium inferior technically and tactically, but he had been taken aback by really they had been physically overwhelmed. Sunderland look to person been very alert of nan imaginable issue, signing only notably powerful players.

But that’s not to propose they are only a beingness side. Their preference, arsenic it was successful astir of their amended performances past season, is to beryllium deep, sorb unit and play connected nan break. There is simply a clear scheme and it says overmuch for some nan recruitment and Le Bris’s coaching that location has been truthful small evident disruption contempt nan presence of nan activity of caller signings.

It’s highly improbable that Sunderland will stay fourth. Their fixture database successful nan 2nd half of nan first half of nan play is overmuch harder than successful nan first, they will suffer possibly arsenic 7 players to nan Africa Cup of Nations and location astir apt will beryllium immoderate benignant of regression to nan mean. Realistically, though, they are astir apt only six wins from information and that was ever nan superior extremity – 1 that, moreover amid nan euphoria of nan playoff last triumph complete Sheffield United successful May, fewer fans seemed to judge possible.

That’s not conscionable bully for Sunderland, but besides for English football. After 2 seasons successful which nan promoted sides person hardly moreover made up nan numbers, reigniting nan thought that a broadside tin travel up and really person nosy is captious for nan pyramid.

• This is an extract from Soccer pinch Jonathan Wilson, a play look from nan Guardian US astatine nan crippled successful Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a mobility for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll reply nan champion successful a early edition.