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Sunderland forward Eliezer Mayenda has played a pivotal role in the Black Cats’ Premier League promotion push and has scored some stunning goals in his breakout season.
Sunderland striker Eliezer Mayenda has been a revelation under Regis Le Bris this season, and an impressive Championship statistic has emerged which highlights one of his best qualities.
Le Bris’ side sits fourth in the Championship table and will stay put after the final day round of fixtures concludes, which will also determine their play-offs semi-final opponents.
19-year-old Mayenda has been one of the revelations of the 24/25 campaign, and has earned plaudits from his teammates and head coach across the season, thanks to his 13 goal contributions.
Aside from that tally, Mayenda has topped second tier attackers in one impressive key metric that highlights how productive he has been in the final third this season, exemplified in his goal of the season contender against Bristol City.
Sunderland ace Eliezer Mayenda tops Championship attackers in key statistic
Mayenda has been imperative for Sunderland this term, notching eight goals and five assists in just 21 Championship starts, with his latest stunner coming in the 2-1 defeat at Bristol City.
With Sunderland down to ten men after Trai Hume’s “harsh” red card, Le Bris’ side dropped deep looking to hit the Robins on transition, which led Mayenda to score one of the best goals second tier supporters have seen this season.
Mayenda took the ball from the edge of his team’s box, dribbled 70-yards, shrugged off five defenders and fired emphatically past Max O’Leary to put his side one-nil up against Liam Manning’s side.
After the game, Sunderland defender Luke O’Nien admitted he’d “never seen” a goal like Mayenda’s before.
Ahead of the Championship final day, football statistician ‘Louorns’ on X, posted a graphic showcasing Championship attackers’ dribbling productivity, which Mayenda topped with aplomb.
Almost 20% of the 19-year-old’s touches this season have been dribbles, with 0.14 shots created per dribble attempted, which highlights how dangerous Mayenda’s intent to dribble at second tier defences has been this season that the Robins’ backline fell victim to.
In addition, Mayenda’s average of 2.18 successful take-ons per 90 minutes, as per fbref, places the youngster in the top one percent of all Championship forwards so far this season.
The Spaniard’s remarkable rise is all the more impressive given that he failed to find the net in 12 appearances last season.
With Wilson Isidor’s goal drought coinciding with Sunderland’s worrying downturn in form, Mayenda has warranted a starting role in the upcoming play-off campaign, but Le Bris is reticent to agree.
Eliezer Mayenda deserves to start in play-offs for Sunderland over Wilson Isidor
As per the Sunderland Echo, Le Bris said of Mayenda’s stunning strike at Bristol City: “Eliezer showed in the last weeks that he’s able to score a goal like that,
“He can hold the ball, he showed many good qualities so far and he’s really important for us. We have two strong strikers, different options.
“With Wilson (Isidor) we can move a bit more in behind, with Eli we have this ability to keep the ball under pressure, dribble and score. It was a fantastic goal.
“Eliezer has improved a lot. He’s really young but has showed his quality.”
Isidor was started over Mayenda in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Oxford United, for which Le Bris “best” Sunderland line-up claim backfired.
The Frenchman has been one of the best Championship players this season, but has failed to find the net since the Leeds United loss in February.
| Eliezer Mayenda | Wilson Isidor |
| Goals scored – 8 | Goals scored – 12 |
| Assists – 5 | Assists – 2 |
| Games played – 36 (21 starts) | Games played – 42 (34 starts) |
Le Bris concluded: “For a head coach and staff, to have two different players at this level is a real positive.”
Mayenda’s dribbling qualities, goalscoring form and confidence is brimming ahead of the play-off campaign – which Sunderland have a worrying history in – and must be reinstated to the starting eleven by Le Bris in the season-defining campaign ahead.