Sunderland’s return to European football was always going to bring extra demands, but Regis Le Bris cannot blame the Europa League for his side’s disappointing Premier League form. The Black Cats sit bottom of the table with five points from eight games after a goalless draw at home to Leeds on Sunday.

Some supporters have questioned whether the demands of competing in Europe for the first time in 53 years are beginning to catch up with Le Bris’ squad. Sunderland have played three Europa League matches so far, with at least five more to come in the league phase alone.

Bournemouth comparison raises questions over Sunderland’s Europa League excuse

Bournemouth have used 19 players for at least 90 minutes in all competitions this season, compared to Sunderland’s 24. More importantly, eight Bournemouth players have played over 800 minutes, double Sunderland’s total of four.

Despite relying more heavily on a smaller group of players, Bournemouth have collected nine Premier League points and nine points in the Europa League. Meanwhile, Sunderland have five league points and seven in Europe. The contrast suggests Regis Le Bris is not being held back by a lack of rotation or an inability to use his wider squad.

Instead, Sunderland’s biggest problem appears to be turning promising performances into goals. Their underlying numbers show they are creating chances, but poor finishing is preventing them from making the most of those opportunities.

They created the better chances against Leeds, recording an expected goals (xG) figure of 0.91 compared to their opponents’ 0.57. However, another failure to find the net left them with just five goals from their opening eight league matches. This suggests a lack of quality in the final third is a bigger issue than fatigue.

There are mitigating circumstances. Brian Brobbey missed several games with a hamstring injury before returning against Leeds, although he was substituted after 65 minutes, while Wilson Isidor is also sidelined. New signing Malick Fofana has yet to make the impact Sunderland would have hoped for, leaving Le Bris short of reliable attacking options.

There is still reason for optimism if Sunderland can begin converting their chances. However, their huge overperformance in front of goal last season means supporters should not assume the current numbers will automatically correct themselves.