FOR much of this summer, Middlesbrough and Sunderland felt like two clubs heading in completely different directions.

Boro were a picture of stability, strategically adding to a squad that only narrowly missed out on the play-offs last season, under a head coach who had been in place for the best part of two years. Sunderland, on the other hand, were in a state of chaos, scrambling for a new boss, with key players looking likely to leave a squad that had nosedived in the second half of the previous campaign.

Fast forward a couple of months, however, and things already feel very different. Sunderland sit second in the Championship table, boasting a settled side brimming with exciting, young talent, overseen by an ambitious new boss whose tactical acumen is already clear to see. Boro, while hardly in a state of chaos, have multiple questions to answer after a below-par start to the season that has seen them win just two of their opening six league games and ship five goals at home as they crashed out of the Carabao Cup. Already, pre-season predictions for both clubs are having to be reassessed.

Sunderland’s start could not have gone much better, with Saturday’s Wear-Tees derby win providing further evidence of the progress that has already been made under Regis Le Bris.

The Black Cats were always going to have impressive individuals. For all that the second half of last season was a write-off, the likes of Anthony Patterson, Trai Hume, Dan Neil and Jobe Bellingham remain hugely-talented performers. Bellingham, in particular, has shrugged off the malaise that affected his performances in the spring, while Romaine Mundle has stepped up superbly to replace the departed Jack Clarke. Then, of course, there is Chris Rigg, the 17-year-old prodigy with the world at his feet. Watching Rigg backheel his remarkable weekend winner, it was impossible not to wonder just how high the teenager could fly in the next few years.

So, for all the understandable doom and gloom that preceded his appointment, Le Bris was always inheriting a squad packed with talent. The surprise has been the speed at which he has transformed last season’s ramshackle collection of individuals into a cohesive whole. Sunderland aren’t playing like a hotch-potch of assorted youngsters, as was the case under both Michael Beale and Mike Dodds, they’re functioning impressively as a unified, well-drilled team, with Saturday’s superb defensive display in the face of plenty of Middlesbrough possession providing further proof of the quality of Le Bris’ work on the training ground. In possession, we know this is a Sunderland team that can hurt the opposition. Now, under Le Bris, they are also diligently following a plan that makes them an extremely effective unit when they do not have the ball. Clearly, that is a major change to most of last season.

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“I think the defensive performance is a strong basis for the team,” said Le Bris, whose side have become the first Sunderland team to win their first three home matches of a league season without conceding a goal since 1894-95. “You feel that this part of our game is powerful, and that gives a confidence to create the rest of the game.

“We work in possession, and we work out of possession during the week too. Both sides of the game model are very important, and when the balance is respected, I think we can create a good performance like this.”

Boro’s performance levels haven’t been catastrophic this season, but results have been disappointing and a familiar theme is becoming increasingly evident. The Teessiders dominated the ball at the Stadium of Light – by the final whistle, their possession stats stood at 63 per cent – but with their opponents sitting deep and camping in against them, they failed to translate their dominance into clear-cut openings.

Boro recorded just one attempt on target all game – they failed to trouble Anthony Patterson at all when they should have been chasing an equaliser in the second half – and for all that Carrick’s players are clearly comfortable in possession, they need a ‘Plan B’ to enable them to ask different questions when faced with a well-organised, deep-lying defence. Having suffered identical problems in their previous home draw with Preston, they already find themselves following a well-worn script.

“We need to find a way of breaking teams down when they come and defend really deep against us, when they’re maybe not doing that against other teams,” admitted Carrick, whose side have slipped to 12th in the table. “Teams are happy to do that against us, so we have to find a way of breaking teams down when they do that.

“We haven’t found the answers in terms of putting the ball in the net, but in terms of creating opportunities in general, I think over a period of games, we’ve shown we’re capable of doing that. We’ve missed some chances, but it’ll come. I think we’re doing a lot of good things, but the fine margins and fine details aren’t quite there. We feel like we’re close, but obviously not close enough to be winning enough games.”

Carrick felt aggrieved that Trai Hume was allowed to remain on the pitch after he thudded into Emmanuel Latte Lath just nine minutes in, and on another day, the full-back could easily have seen red for a challenge that just about strayed into the realms of recklessness.

Sunderland’s winner came midway through the first half, with a sliding George Edmundson prodding Patrick Roberts’ cross back towards his own goal. Rigg nipped in, and while he was forced extremely wide after rounding Seny Dieng, he nonchalantly found the net with a superb back-heel.