We looked at five of Sunderland’s most entertaining, highest scoring, and crucial games in the club’s history after reaching 5000 league games.
Sunderland beat Cardiff City at the weekend, making it two wins on the bounce for Regis Le Bris’ side.
Eliezer Mayenda played brilliantly, popping up with an early goal to put the Black Cats in front, and Sunderland star Chris Mepham scored to seal the 2-1 win on home soil.
Aside from the brilliant result at the Stadium of Light, it was a moment of celebration for the club, with it being Sunderland’s 5,000th league game in their history.
Throughout Sunderland’s history, there have been many high-scoring, entertaining bouts with the Black Cats coming out on top, here we will look at a select five.
Sunderland 5-4 Arsenal – 28th December 1935
Three-time champions Arsenal travelled to Roker Park to face a high-flying Sunderland side.
The Black Cats found themselves with a three-goal cushion going into the interval, leading the Gunners 4-1. However, Arsenal mounted a potential comeback, notching two goals to make it 4-3.
The winning goal was bagged by Jimmy Conner, with it being assisted by Black Cats legend Raich Carter.
Winning this brilliant nine-goal thriller at home helped Johnny Cochrane’s side go on to win their sixth league title.
Sunderland 8-1 Aston Villa U23 – 8th September 2020
A massive win in terms of the scoreline, but certainly not in regards to significance took place in the 2020/21 League One campaign when the Black Cats fielded a fairly strong side in the EFL Trophy to face Aston Villa U23s.
Despite Villa fielding some top prospects, some of whom have gone on to be solid Premier League players, including Aaron Ramsey, Jaden Philogene, and Cameron Archer, they were no match for Phil Parkinson’s outfit.
Surprisingly, Sunderland had eight individuals on the scoresheet in the win, including a young Dan Neil, Charlie Wyke, Max Power and Danny Graham.
The game, played behind closed doors, almost acted as a training game for Parkinson’s side as they sailed towards their biggest win of the 21st century.
Sunderland 3-0 Newcastle United – 25th October 2015
After a poor start to the 2015/16 Premier League campaign, with Dick Advocaat being unable to notch a single win at the start of the season, Sam Allardyce entered the frame.
The new gaffer was unable to notch a win in his opening game, but recorded a famous 3-0 victory at the Stadium of Light against noisy neighbours Newcastle United.
A red card handed to Fabricio Collocini helped Sunderland to all three points, as Billy Jones and Steven Fletcher were amongst the scorers for the Black Cats.
The Black Cats went on that season to mount a brilliant escape, notching 12 points in their last six, whilst Newcastle United were relegated to the Championship.
Sunderland 4-1 Chelsea – 4th December 1999
In the golden days at the Stadium of Light, no season quite comes close to the successful 1999/00 Premier League campaign, which saw the Black Cats finish in 7th.
Sunderland’s side boasted an attacking duo of Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips, with the latter incredibly scoring 30 goals in the league, helping the Black Cats to a record Premier League finish.
The campaign saw several big results for the Wearsiders, notably a 4-1 victory at home to Chelsea, with the first goal landing for the hosts just 44 seconds into the clash. Sunderland’s famous attacking duo were amongst the goals and Quinn and Phillips both bagged a brace, whilst future Black Cats boss Gus Poyet notched a consolation for Chelsea.
Sunderland 2-0 Wycombe Wanderers – 21st May 2022
One of the most important wins in Sunderland’s recent history was their Wembley win against Wycombe Wanderers, reaching the Championship with a 2-0 win against the Chairboys.
It didn’t take the Black Cats long to get their noses in front as Elliot Embleton notched a goal in the 12th minute, whilst seasoned poacher Ross Stewart sealed the victory with a 79th minute finish past Wycombe shot-stopper David Stockdale.
The result ended a long and dreary stay in League One, and provided the foundations for where they find themselves now, which is the slim, but very real prospect of promotion back to the Premier League.