Stephen Elliott: The damning statistic that Sunderland simply have to address over the international break

Sunderland have only scored once in over seven-and-a-half hours of football across all competitions, which is a pretty poor return.

That they have conceded 10 goals in this period just adds to the problem.

This drastically needs to change if Sunderland are to get back on track. Ross Stewart has done really well in front of goal but others need to start chipping in, especially now he isn’t scoring quite as regularly.

The team need to work on getting balls into the box quicker and as Lee Johnson likes to mention, get players in the POMO area to put these balls away.

This may be a case of going back to basics in training and doing some crossing and finishing. Other teams seem to be scoring at will against Lee Johnson’s men by doing this.

It may be a confidence issue but the only way this lack of goals can be eradicated is through practice.

The team have two weeks to get this right and it’s vitally important this stat needs to improve if Sunderland are to find their form again.

There is certainly enough ability to turn this around.

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