Sunderland European Push Looks Plausible After 3-0 Victory Over Burnley

Sunderland strengthened hopes of a European place after a 3-0 Premier League win over Burnley moved the side to eighth. The home team sit five points off the top four. Chemsdine Talbi, Noah Sadiki and head coach Regis Le Bris all spoke about ambitions, but the coach stressed survival targets first.

The victory at the Stadium of Light came through an Axel Tuanzebe own goal, a Habib Diarra strike and a late curler from Talbi. Burnley’s defeat left the visitors 19th in the table, 11 points from safety. Defender Kyle Walker delivered a blunt assessment of the performance after another poor away display.

Sunderland’s home record in the Premier League has been central to the climb. The team are unbeaten in 12 league matches at the Stadium of Light this

season, with seven wins and five draws. It is the longest unbeaten home start by a promoted club since Nottingham Forest in 1977-78.

That Forest side played 21 home league matches without defeat, winning 15 and drawing six. Sunderland also sit among a select group in Europe. The Black Cats are one of seven clubs still unbeaten at home across the top five European leagues this season.

They share that status with Atletico Madrid, Napoli, Juventus, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain. With such numbers, Talbi believes Sunderland can challenge for continental football. Talbi told Sky Sports: "We did a great job today. A lot of passes, a lot of quality on the ball. And today we finished the action well, Talbi told Sky Sports. Really pleased with that and we need to continue like this. We want to reach the top. If we can reach top five, top six we can go through. There's a lot of matches coming but very much focus on the next match. "

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Sadiki echoed Talbi’s optimism while stressing the need to maintain focus during a long campaign. Sadiki said: "It's never enough (to stay up), we want more. We want to reach the top. If we can get top six or top five. There are a lot of matches coming so we have to focus on the next game. "

Le Bris, however, underlined that the main objective remains securing Sunderland’s Premier League status. The head coach told BBC Match of the Day: "For me, the target remains the same. The first target is around 40 points, maybe more. The league is tough. For us, go to 40 and see if we can get more. "

Sunderland Premier League win and Burnley struggles

Burnley’s issues on the road continued at the Stadium of Light. The club have managed only one clean sheet in the last 38 away Premier League fixtures. Burnley have conceded in 22 straight top-flight away games. Sunderland took advantage, pressing consistently and punishing defensive errors after half-time.

Walker outlined Burnley’s problems and attitude concerns after the defeat. Walker told Sky Sports: "Terrible. We've come here to get something from the game and got nothing, so as a club that's fighting for survival it's not acceptable. It's 22 men on a football pitch, it's about who wants it more and they wanted it more than us. When certain situations arise in a game, you're meant to deal with them in a manner that's appropriate for that situation, we don't, for whatever reason, seem to do that. "

The result left Sunderland balancing growing hopes of a European place with Le Bris’ insistence on reaching 40 points first. The Black Cats’ strong home form and current position keep European qualification in view. Burnley, by contrast, remain deep in trouble, needing a major improvement away from home to avoid relegation.