Phil Smith: I watched Sunderland's draw with Aston Villa and these were my four key conclusions

Sunderland continued their impressive start to the Premier League campaign with a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.

It was a result particularly impressive given that they had to play for an hour with ten men following Reinildo's red card. Phil Smith was at the Stadium of Light reporting for The Echo and these were his key conclusions...

SUNDERLAND'S POINT NO FLUKE AND BODES WELL FOR THE FUTURE

There's no doubt that Aston Villa should in the end have taken the win here, missing two huge chances to seize all three points. Harvey Elliott drove an effort just wide of the far post before fellow substitute Jadon Sancho curled in a wonderful cross that Ollie Watkins ought to have converted. That isn't the same as saying Aston Villa deserved to win, though.

To say that Sunderland's point is merited isn't just about praising their hard work with a player less, either. By just about any key metric, they were equal if not stronger than their opponent even in playing for over an hour with ten men. Aston Villa dominated possession as you would expect, but not the goalmouth action. Sunderland had six corners to Aston Villa's five, 14 shots to their 12. Most notably, according to Opta data they had four shots on target to Aston Villa's two and an XG of 1.04 to the visitor's relatively paltry 0.78.

While there will be some frustration that Reinildo's red card in the first half denied Sunderland a real go at taking another invaluable home win, it was afternoon that further underlined why the Black Cats have a real shot at survival this season. They continue to prove very adept at defending their goal, rarely opened up by the opposition in any phase of the game. Harder to define but easy to identify is the resilience and spirit within the group, which looks to have been maintained from last season despite the significant turnover of players in the summer transfer window. Granit Xhaka summed it up best when he said after the game that Sunderland have proven they will not be easy for any team to beat.

Most encouraging for supporters is that rather than accepting their fate, Sunderland adjusted quickly to the red card and came up with a new strategy. A low defensive block was central to that, forcing Aston Villa out wide to encourage crosses they knew their strong defenders could repel. It wasn't all about the last-ditch defending though, with the hosts cleverly using the pace of Chemsdine Talbi and Wilson Isidor to force set plays from which they could cause havoc and take time out of the game. After conceding, they adopted an aggressive man-marking strategy out of possession that carried significant risks but also plenty of reward.

With a deeper squad, Régis Le Bris is being far more proactive this season and the squad are clearly buying in to what he and his coaching staff are asking of them.

REINILDO'S SUSPENSION IS A BLOW - BUT LE BRIS HAS OPTIONS

Reinildo has been a key part of Sunderland's early-season success and so that he now looks set to miss three games due to suspension is a significant blow.

It's also true that defence is probably the area of the pitch that Sunderland can best cope with an absence right now. Dan Ballard has been in the form of his life since the play-off semi finals and his cameo from the bench here suggests he is ready to go straight back into the XI if called upon. Arthur Masuaku can go in as a straight swap (though he is a far more attacking full back than Reinildo) or Le Bris can lean on the versatility of Nordi Mukiele. Mukiele's exceptional form has been key to Sunderland being able to maintain their momentum in Ballard's absence and that he can play in a back three or in either full back position is a real boost to Le Bris for the next few weeks.

Sunderland tweaked their recruitment model slightly this summer, identifying that they would need some additional experience in the spine of the team. So far, it's an approach that is yielding significant reward: Mukiele, Alderete and Xhaka have been superb.

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UNAI EMERY'S SUNDERLAND COMPLIMENT GOES UNDER THE RADAR

Perhaps unsurprisingly, most of the headlines from Unai Emery's post-match press conference centred around his claim that his players had been 'lazy' in their defending for Sunderland's equaliser. Though it was a fine pass from Xhaka and a very good finish from the again impressive Wilson Isidor, Emery certainly had a point.

Emery is an intense, engaging character who talked at length about the struggles his side are facing in regaining their identity after a long and challenging summer transfer window. He also spoke glowingly of the atmosphere created by the Sunderland fans, and how he felt it had forced his side into some mistakes on the ball. He also spoke of the motivation and intensity he can feel from the Sunderland team, which for whatever reason some of his players are struggling to find. It will be music to the ears of Sunderland fans, who have quickly built a connection with a new-look team that looks determined to secure safety this season.

CHRIS RIGG'S FULL DEBUT ENDS IN FRUSTRATION - BUT HE HAS TAKEN A MAJOR STEP FORWARD

Rigg was unsurprisingly disconsolate with the decision to take him off following Reinildo's red card, but when the dust settles he will realise that this was a major step forward in his career. His excellent training performances across recent weeks gave Le Bris the confidence to start him when Habib Diarra suffered an injury in training ahead of the game, and he looked more than comfortable during his half hour on the pitch. Le Bris praised him for his efforts afterwards and with Diarra expected to miss the next two games minimum, Rigg looks to have secured more opportunities to impress in the weeks ahead.

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