Sunderland beat Fulham 1-0 on Sunday to secure their first win of the new season, with defender Nordi Mukiele in fine form.
Sunderland beat Fulham 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at the Stadium of Light to secure their first victory of the 2026/27 Premier League season following their opening weekend defeat at newly-promoted Ipswich Town.
The Black Cats got back to winning ways courtesy of substitute Wilson Isidor's second-half winner, who fired home past Bernd Leno after some impressive work down the right flank from fellow substitute Habib Diarra, to net his first of the new season.
Alvara Arbeloa's visiting side ended the game with 59 percent possession, but failed to manage a shot on target at Robin Roefs' goal, with Sunderland vastly improved from a defensive perspective compared to their subsubstandard display at Ipswich.
Regis Le Bris made one change from that loss, with defender Nordi Mukiele replacing Luke O'Nien in the Sunderland starting XI following the Frenchman's injury in pre-season, and his presence was pivotal to the Black Cats' victory.
Although Granit Xhaka was awarded player of the match, Mukiele was a worthy nominee for the prize following his mammoth display in the heart of defence, and the Black Cats star issued an emphatic response to the outsiders who have backed Sunderland to struggle this season.
Nordi Mukiele battles for the ball with Gonzalo Garcia in Sunderland vs Fulham (Action Images via Reuters)Nordi Mukiele Fires Back At Sunderland Doubters
Following Sunderland's seventh place finish last season and qualification for their upcoming Europa League venture, many pundits and media personalities have backed the Black Cats to struggle this season, with Jamie Carragher recently predicting Le Bris' side to be relegated.
Sunday's win over Fulham, the only side to do the double over Sunderland last season, was not a perfect display from the Black Cats by any means, but their fight and determination to grind out a victory, allied with their decisiveness in the final third with Isidor's winner, showed that there should be no cause for concern.
Clearly, Sunderland star Mukiele feels the same way, telling BBC Sport after the Fulham win that he is relishing the "challenge" to prove the doubters wrong, as the club did emphatically in their first year back among England's elite last season.
When asked about how important the Fulham win was, Mukiele said: "It's very positive because, again, I hear some things outside that I don't like, that people say again, like, we'll go back down and all of that s***.
"Sorry for the language, but I'm not talking about this. They can say what they want.
"Last season they said that and it was wrong at the end. We will show to them, not only for them, but for ourselves, for the city of Sunderland, for the fans, that we will fight until the end and it doesn't matter what people will say.
"The most important thing is what is inside and we will fight until the end because I truly believe in this team and I know we'll become stronger again.
"I'm not surprised. It's football, it's like this. But me, I like it. I love it. For me, it's like a challenge and I love the challenge.
"If I come to Sunderland, it's for this, this type of challenge. We did it last season and I just want to do it again and again."
Mukiele Is Sunderland's Best Defender
Mukiele more than justified his player of the match nomination, with the Frenchman making a staggering 19 defensive contributions, making 14 clearances and enjoying a 100 percent duel win rate with four out of four.
Given his outstanding performances since arriving last summer from Leverkusen, it remains staggering as to how Sunderland bought the former PSG ace for just £10m, and it begs the question as to what the 28-year-old talent would be worth now after acclimatising to Premier League life with such ease and class.
From a Sunderland perspective, it was no coincidence that the defence appeared far more solid with Mukiele in place of O'Nien, and the former Bayer Leverkusen star continues to put himself in contention to be the best defender to ever don the red-and-white stripes.
