Black Cats saw off struggling Burnley to climb up the PL points table
Clarets are in the bottom three
Sunderland won despite the absence of their skipper Granit Xhaka
Premier League strugglers Burnley were no match for a rampant Sunderland as Regis Le Bris' team cruised to a 3-0 victory on Monday.
Habib Diarra played a starring role for the Black Cats, who bounced back from their defeat at West Ham, despite the continued absence of Granit Xhaka.
Diarra, making his first start for Sunderland since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, thought he had opened his Premier League account in the ninth minute, though it went down as an Axel Tuanzebe own goal.
However, Diarra got a goal of his own when his strike beat Martin Dubravka, who should have done better, in the 32nd minute.
Chemsdine Talbi curled in a 72nd-minute stunner, with his long-range finish clattering in off the crossbar, to add further gloss.
While Sunderland moved into eighth, Burnley are now winless in 15 Premier League games, and are 11 points from safety.
Data Debrief: Toothless Clarets heading down?
Sunderland had drawn their last three league games, against Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham, but Scott Parker's team were woeful in defeat here.
They had 55.8% possession, yet turned that into only five shots, with none of those hitting the target. It is the third time this season they have failed to have a shot on target in a league game.
The Clarets created chances worth just 0.06 expected goals, while Sunderland finished with 1.47 xG. Burnley's 15-game winless run is their longest in the competition.
Diarra, though, was Sunderland's star performer. The Senegal international not only had the joint-most shots for the hosts, he also won an impressive four of six duels in a fine all-round performance.
