Sunderland's struggles deepen after 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth
Sunderland lost 2-0 to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium in a Premier League match on Sunday, their fourth league defeat in a row that leaves them second bottom of the table.
The Black Cats returned to the top flight impressively last season, surprising many by qualifying for the Europa League at the first time of asking after eight years away, but their domestic form has deteriorated. After seven games last season Sunderland had 11 points and were ninth in the table with three wins, two draws and two defeats; at the same stage this term they have four points from one win, one draw and five defeats. Manager Regis le Bris acknowledged the current position is poor and refused to make excuses for the run of results.
Bournemouth took the lead in the sixth minute when Marcus Tavernier scored after build-up in which Evanilson bullied Sunderland loan signing Kevin Danso. Danso was then sent off in the 17th minute for dragging Evanilson down when the Brazilian was through on goal. In the second half Omar Alderete's weak backpass to goalkeeper Robin Roefs allowed Evanilson to seal the victory for the hosts. Sunderland managed only three attempted shots, all off target, the lowest total for any team in a Premier League match this season.
Nordi Mukiele offered a stark assessment after the defeat, saying: "I think this game is just what we are looking [like] from the beginning of the season," and adding, "We are not good enough. "Why? I don't know. Maybe because we became arrogant, this is what I think." Le Bris said: "We were below the level, it's really clear. It's hard to take, hard to digest," and called the display unacceptable: "It's very painful because we were not Sunderland and it's not acceptable."
Defensive errors have been a recurring problem for the club this season. According to Opta, no side has committed more errors leading to goals than Sunderland with five, and Alderete became just the third player to commit multiple errors leading to goals this season alongside team-mate Danso and Hull's Konstantinos Tzolakis. Sunderland have conceded 14 goals — only Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town have shipped more — which the article notes is more than double their goals-against tally after seven games last season; they have scored six.
Sunderland's European campaign has, by contrast, started positively with a 100% record after wins over Dutch side AZ Alkmaar and second-tier Portuguese outfit Torreense. The club have, however, lost both Premier League matches played immediately after their Europa League outings, one of which was an eight-goal thriller against unbeaten league leaders Manchester City.
Summer transfer activity and squad depth have been highlighted amid the poor run. Sunderland spent £161m on 15 new players after gaining promotion to the Premier League in the summer of 2025 and invested about £60m on five recruits in the most recent transfer window while retaining captain Granit Xhaka and striker Brian Brobbey, who is currently out with a hamstring injury. Former Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given warned that the squad might not be ready for challenges on multiple fronts, saying: "They overachieved last season, getting into European competition. I don't know if the squad is ready for a challenge on all fronts. You need a bigger squad, a deeper squad, and it's going to be a big ask. I'm just looking at the table and they're second bottom at the minute. "I know it's only seven games played, but there are so many games coming up and in a short period of time. It's about the bread and butter in the Premier League - that's the most important thing. You like to think with Le Bris, they'll have enough to be safe."
Mukiele urged a return to work on the training ground, adding: "It's just the beginning. Football is like this. You can accept and just stand up and go back to work. If I believe we can go back to the top again, yeah, I believe about this. "It depends about what we really want and this starts in training because we don't do enough and after you can see it on the pitch. "You cannot lie about football and today I don't want to say we didn't want to win this game, but it didn't look like we want something. "We just have to work hard to be back where we were like last season because right now this is not us - this is not Sunderland."
Le Bris underlined the challenge facing the club, saying: "We won't find excuses. We have a busy schedule. We want to embrace the challenge, but the position at the minute is not good."
