Sunderland are flying high in the Premier League as the Black Cats stand fourth with 19 points to their name. This comes as one of the biggest shocks so far with the Tyne and Wear-based outfit’s recent promotion to the English top tier.
French football manager Regis Le Bris is the man of the moment, having guided the club to promotion after an eight-year absence from the Premier League. It only took the former French youth international one season to work his magic, after which he replaced much of the squad for the 2025-26 campaign.
Despite a revamp, one of the names that remained at the Stadium of Light was French striker Wilson Isidor. The Rennes native was bought on a season-long loan from Zenit Saint-Petersburg with an option to buy.
One season later, Isidor proved to be of sufficient quality for Le Bris to maintain the footballer’s role under his guidance. The Black Cats scored a total of 58 goals in the EFL Championship last season, with around 20 per cent of them coming from Isidor’s contributions.
Even after scoring 12 goals last season, the French striker actually underperformed his xG of 15.4 and npxG of 13.8 — according to FBref. With 93 shots to his name in the domestic league last season, the trend is only seeing an upward shift as Isidor talked about his obsession with having a go at the goal on RMC.
“I think the team has a style of play that suits me perfectly,” said the Frenchman. “It’s true that we don’t have the ball much, unlike the big teams, but it’s when we have to go on the counter-attack that my qualities come to the fore.”
“Even though I’ve only scored one goal in transition this season. Why do I shoot a lot? Because I want to, I’m hungry, I want to show that I’m capable of playing at this level and achieving even higher goals.”
Wilson Isidor’s shooting obsession at Sunderland
Isidor is pretty aware of his shortcomings, as he states the reasons for his 24 shots in 11 Premier League matches this season. However, there is a deeper tactical role to uncover, considering Sunderland’s strategy this season.
The Black Cats have a pretty low xG compared to the other teams in the English top flight. The team ranks fourth-worst with an xG of 10.45, with only Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aston Villa and Burnley having a lower statistic.
However, when we flip the table according to goals scored, the Tyne and Wear-based outfit ranks 11th with 14 goals to their name. Le Bris’ side outperforms their xG despite being on the lower side of direct attacks compared to other Premier League clubs.
The club’s touches in the box are also one of the worst, with only 193 touches, the second worst in the league. With direct attacks out of the question, Sunderland relies on several different strategies to remain on the winning side despite averaging the third-worst possession this season.
The Black Cat’s goal efficiency is directly tied to shot attempts by the likes of Wilson Isidor. Sunderland ranks second by goals per shot on target with 0.41 to their name, only behind Tottenham Hotspur.
Isidor, on the other hand, is the only Sunderland player in the top 60 by total shots, as the Frenchman stands ninth, despite being in 146th position according to the number of 90s played. The striker is also joint seventh in total goals scored alongside the likes of Mohamed Salah and Viktor Gyökeres.
A promotion usually forces players to reevaluate their abilities, but Isidor’s story is totally on the flip side. Ultimately, the Frenchman’s relentless shooting has played a significant role in the Black Cats’ impressive start to the Premier League.
