Nordi Mukiele sends message to Sunderland fans after comeback win over Crystal Palace

Nordi Mukiele was quick to praise Sunderland supporters after the Black Cats’ 2-1 comeback win over Crystal Palace, insisting the atmosphere at the Stadium of Light once again played its part in another important home victory.

The French defender, who has featured in every league minute since his debut against Brentford in August, continued his impressive start on Wearside by registering his third assist of the season. Mukiele’s low delivery from the right was expertly finished by Enzo Le Fee, who struck just three minutes after Palace had taken the lead.

Yeremy Pino’s opener briefly threatened to derail Sunderland’s afternoon, but the Black Cats responded immediately and used that momentum to take control after the break. Brian Brobbey then sealed the points with his fourth league goal of the campaign, latching onto Noah Sadiki’s pass with 19 minutes remaining.

The result lifted Sunderland back up to eighth in the Premier League table, at least temporarily, and extended their unbeaten home run in the top flight to 11 matches, moving the club onto 33 points from 22 games. Speaking to safc.com after the match, Mukiele was keen to underline the role played by those in the stands.

“I am very happy with the game and the win,” he said. “It was a good reaction from our side after losing away at Brentford, and we came back well after going behind in this game. We didn’t stop and always tried to win. I’m very pleased with the reaction we showed and, of course, with the three points. The spirit and character in our dressing room is fantastic. We all feel very good. Everyone is happy, and we are together as a team. We showed that on the pitch against Crystal Palace, which was very encouraging.”

Mukiele believes Sunderland’s home form has been built on that unity between players and supporters and hopes it can continue as the season progresses. “I just hope we can keep going like this,” he added. “At home, we’ve been incredible so far this season. Our fans are fantastic, and we just have to keep going to support us in every game.”

What has Régis Le Bris said ahead of West Ham?

Sunderland’s win leaves them sitting in a very impressive ninth position in the Premier League table, but Le Bris insists no one will be getting carried away as attentions turn to West Ham, who beat Spurs over the weekend. “Every game is important, and winning in the Premier League is not easy,” Le Bris said.

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“I think we have to remind ourselves how tough it is to win a game in this league. This one, I'm really pleased because it was with maturity and with quality on the pitch. We solved progressively the whole problem of the game and created chances. We might have scored even one or two more goals at the end, and it's a good three points. We keep going step by step. We have seven more to win to reach [out first target] of 40 points.

“And I repeat, it's so difficult to win points in this league. So just step by step. We'll have another opportunity at West Ham but it will be a tough gam and we'll see. If we can get three points, we'll be happy, and then it will be 36. So it's not achieved once again. So we go step by step, hopefully with consistency, maturity and then we'll see.”

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