Sunderland Must Improve On Glaring Issue In Premier League Clashes

Sunderland headed into the international break with a renewed sense of optimism following the 1-0 home win over Chelsea, but there are still massive improvements needed by Regis Le Bris’ side. 

Sunderland beat Chelsea 1-0 courtesy of an Enzo Le Fée penalty, which ended the Black Cats’ bleak run of form and lifted Le Bris’ side off the foot of the Premier League table, alleviating some pressure on the Frenchman’s shoulders in the process. 

Now, the international break offers Sunderland a helpful chance to bookend their substandard start to the campaign and hopefully return in much-improved form, with difficult clashes against Aston Villa, Jagiellonia Bialystok (Europa League) and Tottenham bringing the November fixtures to a close. 

If Sunderland are to turn the Chelsea win into a turning point in the coming stage of their campaign, then Le Bris’ side need to improve in a key area of play that has been a significant factor in their lacklustre start to the season.

So far this season, Sunderland have scored just three goals from open play in the Premier League (according to Football365.com data), the lowest in the top flight, with Leeds United second off the bottom with four. 

In contrast, Manchester City have scored 17 from open play and high-flying Brighton have netted 14, highlighting how toothless Le Bris’ side have been from open play in the final third within the first ten games of the Premier League campaign. 

Sunderland have scored just eight Premier League goals so far this season, and with five of those from dead-ball situations, there is clearly a need for Le Bris to remedy this imperative attacking element in the coming weeks. 

To do so, the Frenchman may need to tweak his tactical application slightly and also learn a crucial lesson from Sunderland’s impressive 3-2 Carabao Cup victory over Brentford last month. 

Tactically, the Black Cats look most potent with bullish Brian Brobbey leading the line, but crucially with willing runners around him from wide attacking areas and the box-crashing runs of Enzo Le Fee and Noah Sadiki from the half-space pockets.

Perhaps, utilising a 4-3-3 formation with those two as ‘number 8s’ going forward will bring better form in the final third from Sunderland, but selecting the right personnel is the most important step for Le Bris which ties into the telling Brentford win. 

Sunderland beat Brentford in the fourth round cup tie after netting three goals in the opening 40 minutes, in arguably the Black Cats’ most impressive attacking performance of the season, as well as the thrilling 5-3 defeat against Manchester City. 

Within both of those games in which Sunderland netted three, their attacking play was much more swift and dynamic, rather than the slow and uninspiring build-up that Le Bris’ side have shown all too often in the opening stage of the season. 

If Le Bris continues to employ two wingers as he did against Brentford, combining that far greater intensity in their final third actions, Sunderland have the recipe to solve their open-play attacking problems that have plagued them in the early stages of the season, and that could be the key to a more productive, higher goalscoring run post-international break. 

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