Jobe Bellingham has scored eight goals for Sunderland since joining from Birmingham in the summer of 2023
Jobe Bellingham’s stunning first goal of the season helped send Sunderland top of the Championship with a comfortable win against Derby County.
The 19-year-old punished the Rams for sloppily relinquishing possession in their half, collecting the loose ball before driving towards goal and unleashing a fierce swerving shot from 25 yards that put the Black Cats ahead before the break.
A tap-in finish from Wilson Isidor following excellent work from the lively Romaine Mundle ensured the victory that moves the Black Cats above West Brom, who slipped to third after being beaten 1-0 by Middlesbrough.
Derby created a number of chances as they searched for a way back into the match, but the closest they came was a Curtis Nelson attempt that was cleared off the line as they slumped to a third successive league defeat.
While Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris stuck with the starting XI beaten at Watford, Derby’s 3-2 home loss against Norwich City prompted a Rams refresh as boss Paul Warne made four changes - which included bringing in the on-loan trio of Nat Phillips, Marcus Harness and Tawanda Chirewa for their first league starts.
The reshuffle almost brought immediate joy for the visitors, as wing-back Kane Wilson – who came in for Ryan Nyambe – set Harness up for an early effort that was well blocked by Chris Mepham, who then went on to deflect a Phillips header over the bar in a hectic start.
The excellent Mundle then helped spark Sunderland’s attack to life with his trickery and ingenuity on the left.
He had a scuffed near-post shot saved by Jacob Widell Zetterstrom, then sent a curling first-time effort just wide having moments earlier helped carve out a headed chance for Bellingham with a clever backheel pass on the edge of the box.
While Bellingham – who is the younger brother of Real Madrid’s England international Jude - squandered that chance, he broke the deadlock in emphatic fashion with a thunderous shot from distance that was always rising and drifting beyond Zetterstrom in Derby’s goal.
Zimbabwe international Chirewa tested Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson at his near post as the Rams went looking for a response before half-time, but Derby’s hopes of upstaging the Black Cats were dealt a major blow when Isidor linked up with Mundle to prod home from point-blank range for his first goal at the Stadium of Light.
With Derby attempting to avoid a fourth successive Championship loss away from home, they went on to carve out a number of chances - the best of which were condensed into one chaotic minute.
An effort from Nelson that was cleared off the line was quickly followed by a flurry of chances when the ball was worked back into the box, with Phillips and Eiran Cashin both foiled from close range.
The defeat means Derby have lost their first four league games away from home at the start of the season for the first time since their disastrous year back in the Premier League in 2007-08, when they finished with a record low points tally.
'A tough win' - reaction
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris said:
“It was another tough game and I think our first half was good even if we can have more control of the game, especially in possession.
“We scored after a high recovery and in this kind of game it is very important to score first.
“We scored quickly after half-time and then the game became more chaotic because they wanted to unbalance us with direct play and were very strong in duels.
“We had a good level of discipline. It’s another win at home. I would like to be more dominant in possession because we have the quality to do that, so we will work on it.”
Derby County head coach Paul Warne said:
“I didn’t think we were very good first half.
“Out of possession we were OK, in possession we weren’t very good and Sunderland were better than us. The 30-yard screamer that nearly took the net off was disappointing, we’ve given the ball away in our own half which is disappointing.
“Mistakes happen in games and we got truly punished. After the second goal we were really good, and if we got a goal when it was bouncing around the six-yard box a couple of times… we changed our shape and I thought we were in the ascendancy a bit and our substitutions had a really good effect.
“In fairness to Sunderland, they defended what they had to well.”
