Sunderland 2-0 Wolves: Mukiele prolongs visitors´ wait for first league win

Sunderland enjoyed a confident 2-0 win over Wolves on Saturday, prolonging the visitors’ wait for their first Premier League win of the season.

Wilson Isidor saw an early goal ruled out for offside, but Nordi Mukiele put the Black Cats ahead at the Stadium of Light, calmly firing through Sam Johnstone’s legs following an exquisite pass-and-move combination with Trai Hume 16 minutes in.

The hosts continued to dominate and should have doubled their lead shortly after as Dan Ballard flicked on Mukiele’s throw-in for Hume, whose diving header crashed off the post.

Following narrow heartbreaks in each of their last two outings, plenty was expected of Wolves ahead of the contest, but they failed to inspire much confidence as profligacy in front of goal continued to haunt Vitor Pereira’s side.

Joao Gomes twice fired wide from excellent positions, while Jackson Tchatchoua squandered a golden opportunity late on, panicking under pressure and fluffing his shot.

The Black Cats finally sealed the result in second-half stoppage time, forcing an own-goal as Chemsdine Talbi’s pass was deflected past Johnstone by an unwitting Ladislav Krejci.

The result sees Sunderland move up to seventh place, level on points with Chelsea and Tottenham, while winless Wolves remain rooted to the foot of the table.

ANOTHER MASSIVE WIN #SUNWOL pic.twitter.com/eUtJloo2mO

— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) October 18, 2025

Data Debrief: Black Cats provide no change of fortune for Wolves

Wolves have now failed to win any of their opening eight Premier League matches for the second season in a row, becoming just the second side ever to do so in consecutive campaigns, coincidentally, after Sunderland in 2015-16 and 2016-17.

The Black Cats, meanwhile, have picked up 14 points from their opening eight Premier League games this season – their best tally at this stage since 1999-00 (also 14) and the most by a promoted club since Wolves in 2018-19 (15).

Despite the scoreline, both sides produced chances of similar quality on Saturday.

Sunderland managed 0.75 expected goals (xG) from eight shots, while Wolves generated 0.78 xG from their 16 attempts, with their lack of composure in front of goal proving costly once again.