‘Unbelievable’ – Everything Michael Carrick said about Sunderland on MOTD after win vs Chelsea
Sunderland moved up to second in the Premier League after recording a stunning win over Chelsea.
Sunderland’s 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge has left fans dreaming of achieving European qualification in what is their first season in the Premier League since 2016-17.
Regis Le Bris is doing an excellent job at the Stadium of Light, and the travelling supporters won’t forget Chemsdine Talbi’s winner for a long time.
On Match of the Day, former Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick had a lot to say about the Black Cats’ victory.
Michael Carrick raves over Sunderland’s brilliant start
Sunderland’s 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest on 27 September was their only away win to date, with the result against Chelsea on Saturday marking their biggest victory in recent history.
The Black Cats now have two matches at the Stadium of Light to come, with Everton and Arsenal facing the trip to Sunderland in the next two weeks.
Despite surrendering much of the ball, Sunderland felt comfortable when defending from deep, and Robin Roefs did not have many key saves to make.
- 4th minute: Alejandro Garnacho squeezes the ball past Roefs from a tight angle
- 22nd minute: Wilson Isidor prods the ball past Robert Sanchez following Noah Sadiki’s long throw
- 93rd minute: Brian Brobbey holds the ball up brilliantly, before laying it off to Talbi, who curls the ball into the back of the net
Speaking on Match of the Day on 25 October, Carrick said: “I’m hugely impressed with Le Bris and there are so many positives to look at.
“The biggest one for me is going up via the playoffs, as it puts you back three of four weeks. Today, they had four players from the team last season, so it’s a big change.
“From a coaching perspective, to accumulate the points they’ve got, it’s an unbelievable achievement.”
Following the completion of Sunday’s games, the lowest Sunderland can drop to in the table is fifth place, and if the Mackems were to keep this form up for the remainder of the campaign, they’d be on course for a Champions League finish.
Sunderland were favourites for relegation this season, yet they are on course for much bigger things than Premier League survival.
Sunderland win vs Chelsea shows that anything is possible for
It’s clear that the players won’t be getting carried away by this run of form, with survival the utmost priority for Le Bris.
However, with 17 points from their opening nine matches, they sit 12 clear of the relegation zone.
It’s clear that Sunderland’s defensive solidity is unnerving teams that can usually break down opposition defences, and that is all down to the impact of Nordi Mukiele and his fellow new arrivals in the spine of the team.
Le Bris has set the Black Cats up as one of the toughest teams to beat, and after the fantastic win over Chelsea, no one will want to face them in this current vein of form.
Enjoyed this article? Stay connected with all the latest Sunderland news, updates, and behind-the-scenes content by following us on our new Instagram account –@mackemnews247