Sunderland managed to defeat Sheffield United on New Year’s Day in a statement victory, and Chris Mepham has suggested it should be a warning to other teams.
After a draw and a defeat in their last two games, Sunderland really needed a big reaction against Sheffield United, and Regis Le Bris’ side got 2025 off to the perfect start.
The win takes the Black Cats to within two points of the automatic promotion spots in the Championship, and puts Sunderland back on track for promotion this season.
By defeating one of the very best teams in the league, Sunderland have also sent a message to their rivals, and Chris Mepham thinks two players in particular have truly shown what they are capable of.
Eliezer Mayenda and Wilson Isidor should strike fear in their opponents
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Mepham highlighted how effective Sunderland were in their counter-attacking moves against the Blades.
He said: “I think that’s us when we’re at our best. We know teams will be wary of that. We’ve shown time and time again this year that on the counter attack we’re really dangerous.”
Mepham also took time to play up the impact of both Eliezer Mayenda and Wilson Isidor in the game, and pinpointed how much they can hurt other teams.
“People like Eli [Mayenda] and Wilson [Isidor] up top have some real pace and some real threat. It was pleasing to see Eli take his goal so well today. He’s answered all the critics that he might’ve had going into this game.”
Mayenda had his ‘best game’ for Sunderland to date, with a goal and an assist, while Isidor bagged what turned out to be the winning goal.
Sunderland can hurt teams in a variety of ways, which makes them very dangerous
You only have to look at the list of goal contributions among the Sunderland squad to see how dangerous they can be from all over the field.
While Isidor is now the Black Cats’ top scorer this season, three other players also have seven goal contributions to their name — Mayenda, Jobe Bellingham, and Patrick Roberts.
| Player | Goals | Assists | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jobe Bellingham | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Patrick Roberts | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Wilson Isidor | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Eliezer Mayenda | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Romaine Mundle | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Chris Rigg | 4 | 1 | 5 |
Further down the list, though, you’ve even got defenders like Dennis Cirkin (two goals and two assists), Luke O’Nien (two goals and one assist), and Dan Ballard (two goals) chipping in.
Sunderland fans want a new striker to be signed in January, and if they get their wish, Le Bris’ side will become a truly formidable force this season.