I watched Sunderland's promising win over Derby County and here's four things I thought

Sunderland secured a 2-0 win over Derby County at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night.

Here's Phil's key talking points from the game...

SUNDERLAND ARE STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS - BUT THERE ARE SOME VERY ENCOURAGING SIGNS

By the time Régis Le Bris came in for his post-match press conference, West Brom's defeat to Middlesbrough had been confirmed and Sunderland's place at the top of the nascent Championship table was confirmed.

There was no danger of Le Bris getting carried away, though, with his assessment of the game focusing primarily on the parts of the game where he saw much room for improvement. The head coach, not for the first time this season, referenced his desire to see his side control the game better in possession and this was clearly at times a scrappier game than he would have liked. It's a fine balance as his side are such a threat on the break, but can make life harder for themselves than it needs to be if they turn over the ball. Le Bris was clear that his side are still learning and that no one behind the scenes would be getting ahead of themselves.

As he acknowledged, though, there were still some very positive signs from this win. Despite not being at their best, Sunderland were able to win relatively comfortably and that is not something they have done very often at the Stadium of Light since their return to the second tier. It was also the second time this season they have responded to a defeat with a win on home turf, a very promising trait as the campaign develops.

And perhaps most encouragingly, they for the most part defended their box very well against a side with a strong set piece record. Sunderland are far from the finished article but this was a performance that underlined the foundations are pretty strong.

DAN NEIL RESPONDS WELL TO WATFORD ERROR

There was never any real doubt that Le Bris would select Neil after his late error against Watford, the head coach rightly making clear in the immediate aftermath of that defeat that he had been pleased with the captain's campaign to date. Neil wasn't helped early on by some challenging passes fired into his path in dangerous areas, but responded with a highly accomplished display at the base of midfield.

Neil was involved in much of Sunderland's best play on the ball and performed strongly off it, winning six of his seven ground duels and completing eight ball recoveries. There's undoubtedly more to come from Neil over the course of the campaign but his importance to this side in games like this when they see more of the ball shouldn't be underestimated.

PATTERSON SHOWS HIS CLASS

It's testament that to Sunderland and the defensive structure Le Bris has been able to implement that there have been few opportunities for Anthony Patterson to claim any headlines so far this season. His clean sheet record has been excellent, but on many occasions he's had few saves of note to make. Here, he had to earn it. Sunderland had two difficult phases in the game, early on when Derby County started aggressively and late on when they rallied after Paul Warne's quadruple substitution. In both phases Patterson stood tall, with one particularly good save from Eiran Cashin at close range and an excellent interception when Kane Wilson slightly overhit his pass to Kayden Jackson as he broke through on goal. Patterson also dominated his box and dealt well with set pieces, a key strength of Warne's side.

Sunderland were deserving of their win but it could have been a far nervier night if they had conceded in those two spells when the visitors were in the ascendancy, and Patterson's contribution was a reminder of his quality.

NUMBER NINE SPOT IS NOW ISIDOR'S TO LOSE

This is no slight on Eliezer Mayenda, whose rapid improvement and selfless displays were pivotal to Sunderland's strong start to the campaign. He'll have a big part to play over the course of the campaign but it seems unlikely he'll return immediately to the starting XI after the international break to take Wilson Isidor's place. Isidor has made a very strong start to life as Sunderland's number nine, capable of holding his own physically against Championship defenders but also showing very good movement inside the box. His two front-post finishes in a matter of days have been the kind of goals not really seen from a Sunderland player since Ross Stewart's departure.

Isidor was recruited as a versatile player who preferred to operate from the left, but his form through the middle at the moment is impossible to ignore. It also has an added bonus for Le Bris and Sunderland in that it means they can be patient with Aaron Connolly and integrate their new signing slowly over the weeks ahead.

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LEEDS PRESENT A MAJOR TEST - AND AN OPPORTUNITY

Sunderland have had a very good start to the campaign regardless of what happens on Friday night, in what will comfortably be their biggest test yet. It will be a big test of Le Bris's resources, with Ian Poveda's injury setback in the latter stages of this win a reminder that as of yet he does not have a huge amount of squad depth. A third game in six days and against such an accomplished opponent therefore represents a significant hurdle. Leeds have issues of their own, however. Ethan Ampadu, Dan James and Manor Solomon are all injured, while Ilia Gruev also picked up a knock in the 1-1 draw with Norwich City on Tuesday night.

It should be a brilliant occasion, and a night where we'll learn a lot about Sunderland.