Sunderland Do Not Know When They’re Beaten

“It shows once again that this team has strong character… they are never beaten. They want to fight.”

Those are the words of Régis Le Bris from after Saturday’s game, the interview which was broadcast on Match of the Day later that evening. As I watched the show, I couldn’t have agreed more with what he said – this is the most remarkable Sunderland team of my lifetime, and the desire they show when going behind in games is truly inspirational.There are many reasons why our side has so much character and that ability to find their way through struggle due to sheer belief and the willingness to never give up, but I can’t help but look at the captain of our team, Granit Xhaka, and his track record in similar situations. You only have to glance at the Leverkusen side that he captained for an example of what can be achieved when you refuse to lie down – they went an entire season unbeaten and did so having clawed back from losing positions on countless occasions.

That experience he gained from being part of that team has clearly taught him a lot of important lessons, lessons that he’s now sharing with his Sunderland team-mates.

Make no mistake about it – Bournemouth are an incredible side, and they have achieved so much under Andoni Iraola already since he took charge there, so to be able to fight back from going two goals down so early in the game is truly remarkable. Yet, as I stood in my usual spot in the South-West Corner at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon, with the rain lashing down and the wind howling, after a brief moment of head loss I had full confidence that this team would find a way to get back into the game. Why wouldn’t I? They’ve picked up more points than any other team from losing positions this season. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is; we don’t fear anyone, and we are willing to work harder than our opponents to get the desired outcome.First came the penalty, which actually came as a result of our players scrapping for multiple loose balls before Reinildo was felled in the box. It was spanked home with aplomb by the imperious Enzo Le Fée, who was the most outstanding player on the field that day. Then came the second, almost immediately after half-time, which just shows how fired up we must have been to come straight back out and get ourselves level – a fantastic pass from Xhaka to Bertrand Traoré, who was a threat all afternoon.

After that, it felt like there was only going to be one winner, and a brilliantly worked corner routine from Sunderland resulted in Le Fée finding the head of our powerful Dutch forward Brian Brobbey, who completely outmuscled his marker to nod us ahead and take all three points.It didn’t end there, though, and the way we managed the game out was fantastic.Another home victory, another three points. All of a sudden we can breathe, and we can go to Anfield on Wednesday knowing we’re more than capable of getting something if we work as hard as we know we can. I can’t believe that I’m even writing that… that Sunderland might go to Anfield and get a result!

These truly are halcyon days.