Swansea City 2 Sunderland 4: Jermain Defoe deserves England call-up plus five other things learned from vital win

Exhilarating and pulsating, Sunderland's 4-2 win over Swansea City really was edge of the seat stuff.
Jermain Defoe scores against Swansea CityJermain Defoe scores against Swansea City
Jermain Defoe scores against Swansea City

The game had it all, goals, shocking decisions, end-to-end action and a red card.

But what did we learn from the victory?

450* for Sam Allardyce450* for Sam Allardyce
450* for Sam Allardyce

1) Jermain Defoe deserves England call-up:

Sunderland's top scorer has now bagged himself 12 goals this season including nine in the Premier League with five in his last two games.

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Defoe has also now scored in back-to-back Premier League games for the first time since February 2015, when he also scored against Swansea.

This was his fourth Premier League hat-trick, only 11 players have more.

The Swansea City v Sunderland game had it all!The Swansea City v Sunderland game had it all!
The Swansea City v Sunderland game had it all!

Defoe has also proven he can lead the line by himself and despite being 33, he is rolling back the years in front of goal.

If the Black Cats do stay up, his goals will be the key reason.

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Behind Jamie Vardy (15) and Harry Kane (11) he is the third highest scoring Englishman in the Premier League.

Defoe is enjoying a better season than Three Lions captain Wayne Rooney, get him back in the England team ahead of Euro 2016!

450* for Sam Allardyce450* for Sam Allardyce
450* for Sam Allardyce

2) Big Sam racks up 450th game in Premier League:

Allardyce has more experience than most and his 450th game as manager in the top flight had it all.

And he showed his canny tactical nous too, making subtle changes to take advantage of having the extra man in the second half.

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Sunderland shot themselves in the foot so soon after Swansea City went down to 10-men.

The Swansea City v Sunderland game had it all!The Swansea City v Sunderland game had it all!
The Swansea City v Sunderland game had it all!

But the Black Cats held their nerve and Allardyce must take a lot of the credit.

3) Swansea City are bang in trouble.

The win at the Liberty Stadium was crucial for Sunderland. Defeat would have seen the Swans pull seven points clear but a win has seen the gap reduce to just a solitary point.

And on the evidence of the Swansea display, they look bang in trouble.

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Nervy for the opening stages, they did recover but going down to 10-men proved to be their ultimate downfall.

Alan Curtis has a big job on his hands to keep them up this year.

4) Sunderland's experience of fighting the drop will be key:

The Black Cats are well versed in season-long battles against the drop, they have done it so many times, especially in the past few seasons.

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That experience could be key again, with the likes of John O'Shea and Lee Cattermole key leaders in the dressing room.

Add to that the quality of Defoe and Jeremain Lens - who has impressed since being recalled to the side - then the Black Cats have more than a fighting chance.

Swansea, meanwhile, don't seem to have the same fighting spirit or character. This is new to them given their recent success in the top flight.

And they looked a nervy and devoid of leaders against Sunderland.

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5) Sunderland end winless streak against Swansea City stretching back more than 50 years:

This was just the second time in 16 league meetings that Sunderland have beaten Swansea, the Black Cats last won in the Welsh city in 1963.

Granted, the sides haven't played against often with them being in different divisions for much of that time.

But still, that is one heck of a monkey off the old back!

6) Sam Allardyce proved right over Swansea City/Premier League debacle:

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The decision by the Premier League to push the game between Swansea City and Sunderland AFC back 24-hours, at the Swans request, has been well documented.

It left Sunderland and their fans - who will have travelled 1,800 miles this week - facing a trip to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League around 48-hours later.

No time at all to recover and prepare.

Swansea don't play again until Monday night, while they made 11 changes from the team beaten by Oxford United in the FA Cup.

It made a mockery of the Premier League decision. Allardyce has been rightly riled by the move.

And no doubt the Premier League won't be making a similar decision anytime soon.