Nordi Mukiele and Kylian Mbappé have played together for Paris Saint-Germain and the French national team previously

Sunderland defender Nordi Mukiele has revealed that his close friend and France international teammate Kylian Mbappé has been keeping tabs on the Black Cats’ remarkable start to life back in the Premier League.

Speaking in an interview with the Premier League, Mukiele explained why Mbappé had commented on one of his recent social media posts after the Wolves game – sparking chatter amongst Sunderland fans online – and praised the club’s impressive early-season success under Régis Le Bris.

“I didn’t see how big his comment had gone – but I can imagine it became a big thing among Sunderland fans because Kylian is a top, top player. Kylian just said to me that Sunderland have made a good start. He should know about Sunderland already – we talk about all things in football – and he saw that we’re doing a great season at the moment.”

Mbappé’s message quickly went viral among Sunderland supporters online, with many hailing the World Cup winner’s acknowledgement as another sign of the club’s growing global profile. Mukiele, who joined Sunderland from Paris Saint-Germain in August for £9.5million plus add-ons, has become a key figure under Le Bris – contributing both defensively and offensively in the club’s rise to the Premier League’s top four.

The French defender also reflected on the photo of him standing before the travelling Sunderland fans at Stamford Bridge, moments after the Black Cats’ dramatic 2–1 win over Chelsea. “In that photo – I’ll tell you the truth. I knew the fans here weren’t happy for a long time about what was happening at the club.

“So I was thinking about what they must be feeling now – winning at Stamford Bridge against an historic club like Chelsea – and it made me really happy. Sunderland is a city where a lot of people love football so to see them like this is very beautiful.”

Mukiele’s passion and connection with the fanbase have already made him a popular figure on Wearside. The 27-year-old, who previously played for Paris Saint-Germain and Bayer Leverkusen, scored his first Sunderland goal earlier this month in the 2–0 win over Wolves at the Stadium of Light.

What did Enzo Maresca say after the game against Sunderland?

Enzo Maresca conceded that Chelsea were second best after their 2–1 defeat to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea made a bright start and went ahead early through Alejandro Garnacho, but Wilson Isidor levelled for the visitors before half-time.

Despite dominating possession after the break, the Blues struggled to break down Sunderland’s organised defence and were punished in stoppage time when Chemsdine Talbi struck the winner from Brian Brobbey’s clever assist. Maresca admitted his side’s defending for the decisive goal was poor and accepted that Chelsea had fallen short over the course of the match. "I think we were in general we were not good enough," Maresca said.

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"When you are not good enough in the Premier League, you know the consequences. I've said already, when you are not able to win, it is important that you do not lose. The second goal is not a transition; it's a long ball in behind where we have 2-v-1. We do not defend properly. The first goal comes from a throw-in in but it is difficult; they bring six or seven inside your six-yard box. Overall, we were not good enough.

"It can be an easy situation because it is 2-v-1 and the striker is facing his own goal, probably we are trying to manage the situation because it is 92,93 minutes, because we have to do better. We struggled to create chances, a lack of creativity. We didn't create a lot, we lost some duels and second balls at 1-0 and against this team, we need to do better. When we arrive in certain areas of the pitch, we cross because we expect to have four or five players inside the box, but today, when we cross, probably the quality of the cross was not the best one.”

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