15/20 duels won: Sunderland star is proving he's on the same level as Xhaka
da marjack bet： While Leeds United fell to a disappointing 1-0 loss on the road at Fulham on Saturday, Sunderland battled to a hard-fought draw at nearby Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
da apostebet： Regis Le Bris’ Black Cats have only lost one of their opening four matches in the league, too, with this battling draw away at Selhurst Park the first point picked up on their travels, which will surely only boost the confidence even more as they bid to beat the drop.
Granit Xhaka impressed once more from the middle of the park as Sunderland’s warrior centrally, with the decision to instantly gift the ex-Arsenal man the captain’s armband appearing to be a masterstroke.
Xhaka's performance in numbers vs Palace
The Swiss enforcer joining the building for £17m this summer did look to be a mightily impressive pick-up before the football had even got underway. After all, this is a player who had once scored nine and assisted seven goals in a solitary campaign for Arsenal.
Now, it certainly looks to be a top purchase for a Sunderland side attempting to make survival look a breeze.
Indeed, Xhaka backed up a standout performance against Brentford, which saw him pick up an assist, with a far more attritional effort away at the Eagles.
Indeed, alongside Robin Roefs heroically keeping the ball out of his net with six big saves, Xhaka would come up trumps, rolling his sleeves up and doing the dirty work, winning a high ten duels and completing eight clearances, meaning Palace were limited in their approach.
However, Xhaka wasn’t the only one figure after the dust had settled on the hard-fought draw that was receiving many a plaudit, with a new recruit defensively sticking out, having been heralded as an “unreal” bit of business by journalist Michael Graham after the full-time whistle was blown.
Le Bris' biggest coup after Xhaka
It was expected that Xhaka was going to be a success, considering the 32-year-old already had a mammoth 225 Premier League games in his back pocket.
On the contrary, Nordi Mukiele might well have been viewed as needing more time to acclimatise to the tough division, having only ever plied his trade in the Bundesliga and Ligue 1, before making the late switch to England this summer.
However, it’s clear from his opening two games in the heart of Le Bris’ defence that the Frenchman was born for the fight of the Premier League.
Mukiele’s opening two matches in numbers
Stat
(vs Brentford)
(vs Palace)
Minutes played
90
90
Goals scored
0
0
Assists
0
0
Touches
84
72
Accurate passes
49/55 (89%)
43/50 (86%)
Clearances
9
7
Total tackles
5
2
Total duels won
12/16
3/4
Stats by Sofascore
Looking at the table above, it’s clear that adding Mukiele for just £12m could now go down as a sensational coup on the same level as Xhaka, with a remarkable 15 duels already won by the gritty 27-year-old across his first two near faultless starts.
With just 13 passes misdirected too, it’s clear that the ex-Bayer Leverkusen defender – who would have known Xhaka at the BayArena – is cut out for the tough fight ahead, having reduced Jean Philippe-Mateta, who is revered for being a handful, to just 31 touches of the ball and one paltry duel won at Selhurst Park.
Having previously shone in the Champions League, it shouldn’t be a shock that Mukiele has instantly settled in. The Premier League can be a tricky beast to adjust to, but the early proof indicates that it’s a phenomenal capture.
Roker Report journalist Andy Tomlinson certainly agrees, with a glowing 9/10 post-match rating handed to the brand new number 20 after he ‘completely shut down’ the threat of Mateta.
With the French defender further heralded as “outstanding” by the aforementioned Graham, the hope will be that both Mukiele and Xhaka can continue to be crucial parts of Le Bris’ machine, as survival is triumphantly secured without any real worries seeping in.