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Manchester United Legend 'Hugely Impressed' by Sunderland's 2-1 Victory Over Chelsea

Originally posted on Sunderland on SI | By Nazario Assad | Last updated Oct 29, 2025 3:00 AM ET

Getting recognition from elite former players in England is not easy, especially those from the Big Six, and even less so when it comes from someone who played under Sir Alex Ferguson's management. Despite all that, Regis Le Bris’s Sunderland has been able to achieve that.

In the aftermath of defeating Chelsea last weekend and getting all the way up to fourth place in the Premier League standings, The Black Cats have cemented themselves as a team to watch this season.

Sunderland's results may have surprised some fans who are not completely aware of how or why they have been gaining so many points so far this season. Nevertheless, experts and former players in English Football have started to acknowledge and recognise some specific details that make it even more impressive for The Black Cats.

With only two losses in nine matches and getting victories against rivals like West Ham, Brentford, Nottingham Forest, and Chelsea, there is a specific side of the club that has excelled on the pitch to achieve that: the defence.

Sunderland has now managed to become the best defence in the Premier League, something unthinkable for clubs recently promoted from the Championship to the Premier League, by allowing only seven goals in their net.

Carrick explains Sunderland's defensive spell

Michael Carrick, 44, was able to experience some of the brightest times of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United as a player, winning multiple Premier Leagues, and also the last UEFA Champions League the Red Devils won, against Chelsea.

When he was asked about Sunderland's performance, Carrick answered without any hesitation, pointing at Regis Le Bris's ability to manage not only personnel changes, but also tactical changes in the team.

“I’m hugely impressed with Le Bris, and there are so many positives to look at. The biggest one for me is going up via the playoffs, as it puts you back three of four weeks. Today, they had four players from the team last season, so it’s a big change”, Carrick mentioned on the Match of the Day broadcast.

“From a coaching perspective, to accumulate the points they’ve got, it’s an unbelievable achievement”, Carrick recognised.

Upcoming matches for Sunderland will test Le Bris's defence the most against rivals such as Arsenal, Fulham, and Liverpool over the next five Premier League fixtures.

This article first appeared on Sunderland on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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