Jobe Bellingham returned from England U21 duty to help Sunderland beat Millwall 1-0. After a typically industrious performance, the teenager relayed the importance of getting back to winning ways and gathering momentum for the final run of the games this season.
The midfielder said: “In the first half, I thought we started really well without controlling the game as much as we can do. In the second, we improved massively on that and controlled it in and out of possession. It’s just good to get back to winning ways.”
Scoring from dead-ball situations is key for Bellingham and his team-mates, and he added: “It’s something we work on and it’s something we discuss in meetings. If we want to succeed in this league, we have to score a certain number of goals from set-pieces. To be successful, we’ve got to score a variety of goals, and we are starting to do that.”
Millwall were a tough nut to crack, and he added: “Millwall are tough opposition no matter what season we play them in. It doesn’t matter when you play them, what season, they have got that identity where they are tough to play against and are hard to break down.#
“Thankfully we scored early which allowed the game to open up for us and allowed us to do what we’re good at. We are trying to get that style of play and fluidity we had at the start of the season. We are trying to bring that back and gather some momentum.”
With seven games to go, Sunderland are looking to mount their charge for promotion with West Bromwich Albion to come next weekend.
Bellingham concluded: “I mentioned gathering momentum towards the end of the season. We will see what happens with that. If we do our jobs and we play the way we can, we’ll see what happens. But if we are at our best every week for these fans, we’ll deserve what we get in the end.”
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