Bellingham revels in silencing Sunderland's doubters in play-off final win

Sunderland ended their eight-year exile from the Premier League with a 2-1 win over the Blades at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, with Tom Watson's late goal sealing the win.

Regis Le Bris' team lost Luke O'Nien early on to injury and then went a goal behind in the 25th minute when Tyrese Campbell dinked the ball over Anthony Patterson.

But they came out fighting after the break and deservedly drew level 14 minutes from time when Eliezer Mayenda rifled the ball into the roof of the net.

And in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, Watson, who will join Brighton next season, curled home the winner, which was just his third goal for Sunderland.

Indeed, aged 19 years and 46 days, Watson became the second-youngest player to score in a second-tier play-off final, after Julian Joachim in May 1993 (18y and 253d).

Ahead of kick-off, many predicted Chris Wilder's team to secure an immediate return to the top-flight, given they finished 14 points clear of the Black Cats in the table.

That gap was largely down to a run of six games without a win at the end of the campaign, which included five consecutive defeats, all to sides lower in the division.

"I know people doubted us, it was understandable, we lost a few games, people talk about momentum," Bellingham told Sky Sports after the match.

"But I think we did enough and showed enough in the season for people to give us some credit going into the play-offs.

"People say we are inexperienced, but you get experience by failing, and we have failed together so many times and, in the end, we've come good.

"Every single player has made a name for themselves here. Really proud."

Say it louder for the people at the back, Jobe! pic.twitter.com/MyLoPBKuhJ

— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) May 24, 2025

Sunderland rode their luck at times under the Wembley arch, with the Black Cats ending with an expected goals (xG) total of 0.71 to their opponents' 1.46.

The Blades also saw Harrison Burrows' goal disallowed when they were 1-0 up in the first half, but his strike was ruled out for an offside against Vinicius Souza.

But Le Bris' team took their opportunity at the vital moment, with the Sunderland boss explaining his players had to adjust to tactical tweaks, but were able to find the solution.

"It was a weird game. We didn't start well I think, maybe a bit nervous. We knew before that they could be clinical and they were," Le Bris said.

"After that, I think this game represents the way that we play this season - with resilience, with discipline to get back into the game, and we have talented players so we can score.

"We needed to change something in the game, so we were lucky because we had many options on the bench, and we tried different options in the second half.

"And finally we found the solution. The players found the solution because it's always like that.