Seventh place wasn’t really in the conversation when Sunderland returned to the Premier League. Staying up was the obvious first job. Instead, Régis Le Bris’ side collected 54 points and earned the club’s first European qualification in more than half a century.
They did it without scoring loads. Sunderland managed 42 league goals, but only 48 went in at the other end. That defensive record was actually better than Manchester United, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Chelsea managed. For a newly promoted team, that’s some achievement.
The Stadium of Light helped too. Nine of Sunderland’s 14 league wins came at home, while Robin Roefs emerged as a big part of a defence that proved far harder to crack than most expected. Granit Xhaka gave the midfield experience and control around a young squad.
Now comes a rather different challenge. Europa League matches will stretch the calendar, so keeping that defensive level across two competitions could matter more than simply chasing another seventh-place finish.
Sunderland results and player numbers can be followed through BetVictor’s football stats coverage. The live Premier League betting section gives the wider league picture, with clean sheets, home results and goals conceded among the Sunderland stats worth watching most closely.
