‘Brilliant’ – Alan Shearer wowed by what two Sunderland players did vs Nottingham Forest
Alan Shearer has put his Newcastle United allegiances aside to heap praise on Sunderland for their increasingly impressive start to the Premier League season.
Sunderland defeated Nottingham Forest 1-0 on Saturday, 27 September, to move up to fifth in the top-flight table.
Omar Alderete’s first-half goal proved enough to hand the Black Cats their third win from six attempts in the Premier League.
Regis Le Bris is reaping the benefits of his busy summer transfer window, which saw Sunderland sign stars like former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka.
Granit Xhaka shines as Sunderland triumph over Nottingham Forest
Even though Reinildo was suspended following his red card against Aston Villa, the Black Cats defeated Ange Postecoglou’s men at the City Ground.
Midfielder Xhaka performed particularly well against Forest, producing the assist for Alderete’s 38th-minute winner.
Speaking on The Rest is Football [29 September], Newcastle legend Shearer said: “Brilliant they were (Sunderland). They were great again.
“As you know, I’ve got a couple of pals in Newcastle. They were Sunderland fans, and they’ve been giving me grief because I haven’t yet praised Sunderland on Match of the Day.
“We were splitting up who was going to do the games towards the end of the programme yesterday (Saturday) and I said ‘Micah (Richards), I better do Sunderland because I’ve never said anything about them this season as yet’.
“They have had a great start, and they got their first away win of the season yesterday, and they had to work hard for it.
“But I thought Granit Xhaka was fantastic in the midfield. (Robin) Roefs in goal again was brilliant, and made an error last week, I think but he, in general, he has had a good start.
“So yeah, well done Sunderland, that’s all. Let’s hope I don’t have to say that too many times this season!“
Regis Le Bris’ strong Premier League start shows no signs of letting up
Even though Sunderland enjoyed a successful summer transfer window, few Premier League fans will have anticipated the Wearside outfit’s almost flawless start to life in the top flight.
| Sunderland stats | Premier League 2025/26 |
| League position | 5th |
| Matches | 6 |
| Matches won | 3 |
| Matches drawn | 2 |
| Matches lost | 1 |
| Goals scored | 7 |
| Goals conceded | 4 |
| Expected goals (xG) | 5.7 |
| xG conceded | 7.0 |
The past two Premier League seasons have witnessed the six most recently promoted sides suffer an immediate relegation back to the Championship.
But the Mackems’ current form suggests that they are far more likely to trouble the top-half places than endure an unwanted second-tier return.
Sunderland have crucially established a rich vein of form at the Stadium of Light, defeating both West Ham United and Brentford on home soil before drawing with Aston Villa despite their red card on 21 September.
However, Le Bris will have been concerned when Sunderland lost to Burnley in their first away game of the season.
Since then, though, the Black Cats have been successful on their travels, drawing with an unbeaten Crystal Palace outfit before defeating Nottingham Forest.