The Hunger is Big: Sunderland Eye Fresh Heights After Hitting 40-Point Mark

Elland Road, 15 March 2025 — Sunderland’s return to the Premier League has already passed the sport’s most fabled survival line, yet the visiting dressing-room sounded anything but satisfied after a dogged 1-0 win over Leeds lifted the Black Cats to 40 points with nine fixtures still to play.

“We spoke at the beginning of the season—our target was 40 points,” said Granit Xhaka, the 33-year-old summer recruit whose second-half introduction coincided with a visible shift in momentum. “We achieved 40 points and now we want more because the hunger is big.”

The Switzerland international’s declaration underlines a remarkable transformation. Little more than 12 months ago a stoppage-time Leeds winner on the same ground nudged the Yorkshire side top of the Championship and left Sunderland staring at the play-offs. Both clubs ultimately secured promotion—Leeds as champions, Sunderland via a Wembley triumph over Sheffield United—but their trajectories have diverged sharply this term. Saturday’s result means the Wearsiders have matched the points benchmark for safety before mid-March, while Leeds remain nine points shy and entangled in relegation concerns.

Michael Brown, summarising for BBC Radio 5 Live, labelled Sunderland’s campaign “sensational,” adding: “To achieve 40 points, you find a way away from home. They’ve got over the line.”

Head coach Régis Le Bris, appointed to steer the newly promoted side, has extracted results through tactical discipline. His game-plan at Leeds was typical: cede possession, stay compact, and capitalise on rare forays forward. Habib Diarra’s 67th-minute penalty—awarded after Ethan Ampadu handled Wilson Isidor’s goal-bound effort—proved sufficient, despite Diarra’s tame strike requiring a fortunate ricochet off keeper Karl Darlow. The visitors withstood 12 minutes of stoppage time to record their first away victory since October and only the fifth Premier League win this season by a team managing a solitary shot on target. Sunderland now account for two of those.

Leeds, winless in four league outings, dominated the ball but rarely tested debutant goalkeeper Melker Ellborg. The defeat leaves Daniel Farke’s side 15th, just three points above West Ham ahead of the latter’s mid-week fixtures. A trip to Crystal Palace on Sunday looms large, with Norwich visiting in the FA Cup the same day.

Farke insisted nerves must not override performance. “We are not too far away,” he said. “More is needed. It is important not to lose heads. We have to act with a bit more brutality.”

For Sunderland, the next objective is already fixed. “The next target is 43,” Le Bris stated. “Let’s be prepared for that. Let’s keep going.”

Xhaka, recently back from injury, echoed his manager’s incremental approach. “We need to stay humble. We know where we come from. When you achieve the first one, you want more. We are taking it game by game—let’s see where we get.”

Where they get could yet surprise a Premier League that, only a year ago, watched Leeds celebrate a last-gasp winner against them. On Saturday evidence, the Black Cats’ appetite is far from sated.