On a night of Champions League action, it was another Bellingham – Jobe Bellingham – who sparkled under the lights as Sunderland maintained their fine start to the Championship against Derby County.
To the delight of his Real Madrid superstar brother – Jude Bellingham’s reaction to Jobe’s Sunderland stunner said it all – Regis Le Bris’ side put that Watford defeat behind them with a deserved 2-0 win sparked by a 25-yard stunner from a man who epitomises the club’s revamped transfer policy like no other.
Sunderland, under Kyril-Louis Dreyfus, are working to make the Stadium of Light home to the best young talent in the EFL.
After planting the seeds of future success in previous transfer windows, it is approach which is starting to really bear fruit.
As 19-year-old Jobe Bellingham picked up possession outside of the Derby County penalty area and lashed a ferocious shot into the top corner, it was tempting to wonder just how high this Sunderland side could fly if Le Bris can instil the sort of consistency they lacked in 2023/24.
Derby County ace lauds Sunderland midfield as Jobe Bellingham scores stunner
Bellingham was not even the youngest of The Black Cats midfielders on the night. That honour went to Chris Rigg; the homegrown 17-year-old delivering the sort of mature display that is rapidly becoming his trademark.
Dan Neil – Sunderland’s 22-year-old captain – also played a major role, with Derby right-back Kane Wilson left to rue his side’s inability to cope with a fluid and technically-superior Sunderland midfield.
“We are disappointed. It felt like we could have got something from it. At the end of the day, sometimes, stringing a few passes together was our downfall,” Wilson
“We changed the press a little bit in the second half to try and get around them. It was tough. They are a good team. Their midfield was amazing.”
Back on the top of the table after a sixth win in eight league games, Sunderland doubled their lead as Wilson Isidor tapped after some fine work from an in-form wideman.
Former Tottenham starlet Romaine Mundle sparkled on the left once again.
To think, there were concerns that Le Bris’ tenure would unravel when Jack Clarke left for Ipswich Town. Sunderland failed to lure Alexandre Mendy away from Caen too; another cause for concern too.
But with Mundle growing by the week and Isidor now scoring two in two, almost everything that could go right is going right for the Wearsiders right now.
“We are obviously disappointed. I thought we started the game really well and quietened the crowd down a bit,” Derby boss Paul Warne said during his post-match press conference. “There wasn’t much in the first half, neither team were really amazing.”
Paul Warne points out big difference between Sunderland and Derby
Warne, like Wilson, felt that Sunderland’s superior quality on the ball made the difference.
“They were just a bit more concise than us in possession. We gave the ball away a bit too much for my liking in the middle of the pitch, which we’d worked on to try and avoid doing,” adds the former Rotherham United coach.
“There’s always going to be mistakes in play, but we gave it away a few too many times and tried doing little flicks. Their first goal was a screamer, but most of their attacks came from our poor play.
“Their second goal was a cross and a tap-in. We got in similar areas and even when Kane Wilson played Kayden Jackson in midway through the second half, he just over-cooked the pass. If we had got a goal back, we would have been in a good place.
“We didn’t get what our play possibly deserved in the second half. We just weren’t clinical enough.”
Sunderland will go again on Friday, hosting potential promotion rivals Leeds United at the Stadium of Light.