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After defeating Luton Town to top the Championship standings, Sunderland were hoping to win promotion to the Premier League this year.

In a year, the Black Cats have just defeated Chelsea, the club’s champions, to move within two points of Premier League leaders Arsenal.

It would be unfair to refer to Sunderland’s beginning as merely a dream.

They have defied critics who had accused them of signing too many players by deflecting the recent trend of newly promoted sides struggling in the Premier League with 17 points from nine games.

To put Sunderland’s start in context, it’s important to remember that the Black Cats defied all odds to once again conquer the top flight.

Regis le Bris’ side managed just 58 goals in their 46 games, finishing 24 points clear of Burnley and Leeds in the automatic promotion standings.

They were unaffected heading into the play-off semi-finals against Sheffield United, who finished 14 points clear of the Black Cats, and needed an injury-time winner to beat Coventry.

However, Sunderland showed their resilience again, coming out of the blocks in the final and bringing in Tom Watson for the first time in eight years to claim top flight status.

It increases the scope of this season’s debut season.

The Black Cats’ best Premier League start has been 17 points, which is equal to Sunderland’s best start since 1999-2000, with that score coming from their nine matches.

Only five newly promoted teams have managed to score more points than Sunderland has this season in their first nine games.

In 2000, Sunderland and all five of those teams were able to survive relegation.

After the win at Chelsea, Michael Carrick told BBC Radio 5 Live, “Anyone who is honest enough will say that they never expected Sunderland to start this well.”

They will want to build on the points they have already accumulated, according to the statement.

They appeared to be quite content and composed for a while, but they also appeared dangerous. They simply maintained that belief to win.

Beyond their points total, Sunderland’s start is perhaps its most surprising achievement because they have managed to incorporate so many new signings following promotion.

A record amount of money was spent on 15 new players by the club, which was a promoted side, for £161 million.

Leicester, Southampton, and Ipswich were the three promoted teams that spent a combined £267 million in the previous season, but they also had the lowest total points conceded by relegated teams in Premier League history.

Spending a lot is essentially a guarantee of survival.

The Black Cats’ challenge of making too many changes to a squad that has earned promotion makes Sunderland’s start even more of an outlier.

Former Watford captain Troy Deeney called it “an unbelievable start that was well earned.”

“Sunderland were ruthless, but the majority of teams always stick with the players who won.”

They changed the goalkeeper and almost everyone else, and they said, “We will try and stay up,” and being second in this regard, they will think, “Do you reckon we can get in the top 10?” ‘.

Signing so many players might have stifled the spirit of the changing room, leaving those who helped the club regain its position in the top flight resent those who have come in and replaced them.

However, so far, it has been the opposite based on this evidence.

After the Stamford Bridge victory, Le Bris remarked, “We built our identity both before and during the pre-season.”

“The bond, the capacity to suffer and defend together.” Although we had a little trouble finding the right balance in possession, we were good with the ball, found spaces, and tried to press high when possible before blocking deep because they could punish you in the middle.

Because the substitutes were crucial once more, I’m really proud of the team, the staff, the starters, and the finishers. We put in a lot of effort and enjoyed the game.

The off-the-ball work of the Black Cats serves as an illustration of the suffering Le Bris discusses.

Only Crystal Palace, Everton, and West Ham have a lower average, with 42.5% possession in their nine matches this season.

Only Arsenal and Manchester City have conceded fewer goals than Sunderland, despite wasting so much time without the ball.

That indicates that Le Bris has a team that is prepared and committed without the ball, with supporting evidence.

Granit Xhaka has had the most impact among Sunderland’s summer recruits.

When the former Arsenal captain made the decision to leave Bayer Leverkusen for the north east in the summer, he raised eyebrows.

After leaving for Germany in 2023, it was even questioned whether the 33-year-old could still make a name for himself in the Premier League.

But he has spectacularly perplexed the critics.

Newcastle United’s passing was quickly approaching.

The hosts were preparing to draw 1-1 against Fulham at St James’ Park with 90 minutes remaining.

However, Bruno Guimaraes, the captain, maintained his convictions.

The Brazilian was trying his hardest to influence the outcome with his mentality and fitness.

When visiting keeper Bernd Leno was unable to parry substitute William Osula’s shot into the path of the midfielder, Guimaraes lashed the ball into the net in front of the Gallowgate End, the crowd was in wistful.

He said, “We can’t play the game the way it always will, but we must find the three points,” and we succeeded in doing this. “We fight until the very end, Newcastle,” I recall.

After being the target of late sucker punches against Brighton, Arsenal, and Liverpool this season, Fulham’s players appeared understandably disoriented, and their counterparts are aware of this.

However, Eddie Howe’s team rallied on Saturday to take all three points with a stunning victory.

Other people stepped up this afternoon.

In the Premier League, Nick Woltemade had scored four of Newcastle’s previous five goals.

However, his team did not have their record-keeping printed on the scoresheet when they won their first top-flight game this year.

The forward was Newcastle’s biggest threat in the first half when he opened the scoring, scoring his first of the campaign.

In the opening moments, he struck the post outside, but Leno had better have doubled the lead when he had been knocked down.

Howe had the luxury of turning to a stacked bench right away following Sasa Lukic’s equalizer, but Newcastle’s failure to capitalize on Murphy’s opener might have cost them.

The arrival of energetic forwards Anthony Elanga and Osula late on followed a triple change, sending on Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes, and Fabian Schar for Lewis Miley, Murphy, and Sven Botman, who had to go off with a cut.

Marco Silva, the manager of Fulham, was forced to hold his hands up in the absence of a number of injured players.

He claimed that they began to take greater risks. They “pressed us higher,” they said. They worked hard on the frontline. All three of the frontline players were able to be replaced.

In the lead up to Newcastle’s winner, Elanga and Osula ultimately played significant roles.

Before feeding Osula out to the right, Swede Elanga dispossessed Fulham defender Ryan Sessegnon.

The Danish frontman drove forward before cutting inside and letting fly from the edge of the area as he matured into a player capable of playing games at this level. He scored against champions Liverpool earlier this year.

Guimaraes knocked in the rebound when Newcastle desperately needed their captain, despite Leno making the initial save.

Michael Carrick, a Match of the Day pundit, made no mistake when Guimaraes played 90 minutes of his team’s match against Benfica on Tuesday night.

According to the former Manchester United midfielder, “He always provides that leadership on the pitch.” He serves as the stadium’s talisman and adds that extra energy when the fans are turned up. For Newcastle, it has a big, big goal.

Newcastle moved up to 10th place as a result of that goal.

Of course, that’s not where they want to go, but this still felt significant.

In addition to claiming three victories, three draws, and three losses in the Premier League last season, Newcastle also qualified for the Champions League, putting an end to a 70-year search for a significant domestic trophy.

And Howe believes that “the best is still in store for us.”

When you score late goals, “we have seen many times historically, it’s not just the game you’ve won,” he continued.

There’s more faith that you can find a winner, that you have players who can decide games, in our opinion, if the mood, even the attitude are changed once more while we’re in that position.

Newcastle United’s passing was quickly approaching.

The hosts were preparing for a poor 1-1 draw against Fulham at St James’ Park with 90 minutes remaining.

However, Bruno Guimaraes, the captain, maintained his convictions.

The Brazilian was trying his hardest to influence the outcome with his mentality and fitness.

When visiting keeper Bernd Leno was unable to parry substitute William Osula’s shot into the path of the midfielder, Guimaraes lashed the ball into the net in front of the Gallowgate End, the crowd was in wistful.

He said, “We can’t play the game the way it always will, but we must find the three points,” and we succeeded in doing this. “We fight until the very end, Newcastle,” I recall.

After being the target of late sucker punches against Brighton, Arsenal, and Liverpool this season, Fulham’s players appeared understandably disoriented, and their counterparts are aware of this.

However, Eddie Howe’s team rallied on Saturday to take all three points with a stunning victory.

Other people stepped up this afternoon.

In the Premier League, Nick Woltemade had scored four of Newcastle’s previous five goals.

However, his team did not have their record-keeping printed on the scoresheet when they won their first top-flight game this year.

The forward was Newcastle’s biggest threat in the first half when he opened the scoring, scoring his first of the campaign.

In the opening moments, he struck the post outside, but Leno had better have doubled the lead when he had been knocked down.

Howe had the luxury of turning to a stacked bench right away following Sasa Lukic’s equalizer, but Newcastle’s failure to capitalize on Murphy’s opener might have cost them.

The arrival of energetic forwards Anthony Elanga and Osula late on followed a triple change, sending on Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes, and Fabian Schar for Lewis Miley, Murphy, and Sven Botman, who had to go off with a cut.

Marco Silva, the manager of Fulham, was forced to hold his hands up in the absence of a number of injured players.

He claimed that they began to take greater risks. They “pressed us higher,” they said. They worked hard on the frontline. All three of the frontline players were able to be replaced.

In the lead up to Newcastle’s winner, Elanga and Osula ultimately played significant roles.

Before feeding Osula out to the right, Swede Elanga dispossessed Fulham defender Ryan Sessegnon.

The Danish frontman drove forward before cutting inside and letting fly from the edge of the area as he matured into a player capable of playing games at this level. He scored against champions Liverpool earlier this year.

Guimaraes knocked in the rebound when Newcastle desperately needed their captain, despite Leno making the initial save.

Michael Carrick, a Match of the Day pundit, made no mistake when Guimaraes played 90 minutes of his team’s match against Benfica on Tuesday night.

According to the former Manchester United midfielder, “He always provides that leadership on the pitch.” He serves as the stadium’s talisman and adds that extra energy when the fans are turned up. For Newcastle, it has a big, big goal.

Newcastle moved up to 10th place as a result of that goal.

Of course, that’s not where they want to go, but this still felt significant.

In addition to claiming three victories, three draws, and three losses in the Premier League last season, Newcastle also qualified for the Champions League, putting an end to a 70-year search for a significant domestic trophy.

And Howe believes that “the best is still in store for us.”

When you score late goals, “we have seen many times historically, it’s not just the game you’ve won,” he continued.

There’s more faith that you can find a winner, that you have players who can decide games, in our opinion, if the mood, even the attitude are changed once more while we’re in that position.