The remarkable Sunderland stat that puts them in the company of Europe's elite

Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Napoli, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, Sunderland. Quite the list, isn’t it?

At the start of the Premier League campaign, when hopes were tentative and the threat of relegation much more tangible than it is today, one of the recurrent platitudes that was bandied around in discussions pertaining to Sunderland’s chances of survival was the need for them to make the Stadium of Light into a “fortress”.

Nobody could have envisaged that after 11 home fixtures in the top flight - having welcomed the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City, Aston Villa, and Newcastle United to Wearside - their battlements would still be standing unscathed.

On Sunday afternoon, a resurgent Manchester United travelled to North London and unexpectedly beat league leaders Arsenal on their own patch. It was a result that may or may not have profound ramifications in this season’s title race, but that certainly did leave little old Sunderland rubbing shoulders with the elite of European football. The Black Cats are now just one of seven teams spread across the continent’s traditional top five leagues who are still yet to lose a game on home soil this term.

What’s more, across the entirety of England’s top four divisions they are one of just two clubs - alongside the mighty Bromley - to have sustained that feat all the way through to the end of January.

And no matter which way you look at it, that is utterly remarkable. Not only have Sunderland outlasted every one of their Premier League peers, but they have also stuck it out longer than the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Inter Milan - and they’ve done it all as a newly promoted side who most pundits were thoroughly convinced would finish rock bottom of the division.

Of course, the reality is that the Black Cats’ home form has needed to be good this season. At the time of writing, with a visit from Burnley to navigate on Monday evening, Le Bris’ side have the fifth-best home record of any team in the top flight, amassing 23 points - albeit having played one match fewer than Arsenal, Man City, and Brentford above them.

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And that’s important because, by contrast, their away form is much, much shakier. From a dozen away outings, the Black Cats have racked up a comparatively underwhelming 10 points, and all six of their Premier League defeats so far this term have come on the road.

That, then, has to be the next step. If Sunderland are to kick on towards the upper reaches of the table, then they have to find a way of translating the solidity they consistently show at the Stadium of Light into their travels too.

For now, however, they can at least take solace in the fact that fearsome return in the North East has catapulted them well clear of a relegation battle - and into the company of some of the best teams in the world.

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