Staying up in 17th position? It would still be a success of sorts. But when you’ve taken 17 points from your first nine matches and had climbed as high as second in the table in the immediate aftermath of beating Chelsea in their own backyard, you could surely be forgiven for setting your sights somewhat higher.
Mid-table security? That certainly seems attainable at the moment. A top-half finish? Why not? Matching Peter Reid’s newly-promoted team from the 1999-2000 season that finished seventh after sitting in the top three at Christmas? Match that, and Sunderland will be in Europe next season, a scenario that might have seemed ridiculous while they were celebrating their play-off success at Wembley in May, but that now feels like a scenario that is hardly out of the question.
“The thought is exactly the same,” said Regis Le Bris, with a level-headedness that is understandable, but which is becoming increasingly hard to sustain. “It’s 40 points as soon as possible. We need three more points to be even halfway.
“We know it's important to start well because it can give confidence and belief. We know it can be difficult to break a negative mindset so to start like this is important, and we are very happy for our fans.”
Prior to Saturday, the strength of Sunderland’s start was being downplayed because they ‘hadn’t played anyone decent yet’. Surely that can be put to bed now.
Three days before taking on the Black Cats, Chelsea’s supposed B team had thrashed Ajax 5-1 in the Champions League. Reverting to their first-choice line-up, Enzo Maresca’s Blues were outthought, outmuscled and eventually outscored by a Sunderland side whose strength and athleticism are proving extremely hard for Premier League opponents to cope with.
“I think in general we were not good enough,” conceded Maresca. “When you are not good enough in the Premier League, you know the consequences.”
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Not for the first time this season, Le Bris got his tactics spot on, even if Sunderland had to overcome a rocky start to claim their second away win of the campaign.
When the Black Cats were out of possession, Le Bris lined up his side with a five-man backline that was designed to deny Chelsea’s attacking players time and space. When the home side had the ball, particularly in the second half, Sunderland were happy to drop deep and soak up pressure.
When Sunderland were in possession though, or when they thought there was a chance to steal the ball high up the field, the visitors switched tack, pressing aggressively and pushing either Trai Hume or Lutsharel Geertruida, who was making his first Black Cats start, 20 yards forward to create a midfield overload.
The ploy had two effects, disrupting Chelsea’s midfield rhythm as Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo found themselves unable to spring forward, and ensuring Sunderland were able to counter-attack with numbers when the opportunity arose.
The Black Cats were a threat on the break all afternoon, culminating in the dramatic stoppage-time winner that saw Brian Brobbey hold up the ball despite the attention of two defenders after breaking clear of the Chelsea defence, before his fellow substitute, Chemsdine Talbi, curled home a clinical winner after the ball was rolled into his path.
“It wasn’t obvious that we would stay in the game, but after about 15 minutes we found the right balance,” said Le Bris. “We had good quality on the ball with the extra body in there making four midfielders and we had the ability to defend high when it was possible.
“But then we could also set a deep block that was really strong, well-connected and hard to beat. That meant we could protect our goal and prevent Chelsea from getting through.”
Sunderland’s first goal, which cancelled out Alejandro Garnacho’s fourth-minute opener, came when Wilson Isidor bundled home from close range after the Chelsea defence failed to deal with Nordi Mukiele’s long throw.
Mukiele’s exorcet-like delivery had caused havoc in the previous weekend’s home game with Wolves – here, it was even more of a threat.
The French centre-half was equally impressive defensively, with the strength of Sunderland’s collective second-half defensive display enabling them to frustrate and neuter a Chelsea team that had been relatively free-scoring in their previous games.
Dan Ballard marked former Sunderland loanee Marc Guiu out of the game, while Reinildo Mandava more than justified his immediate recall after suspension after he successfully shackled both Pedro Neto and Estevao.
“Reinildo and Trai [Hume] did really well, and it was also good to see Lutrashel do so well on his first start,” said Le Bris. “I was really happy for him.”