Sunderland have surprised Premier League fans worldwide with their stunning performances on the pitch this season. One Black Cats fan had a bigger surprise waiting for him after opening TikTok earlier this week.
Granit Xhaka Sends Heartwarming Message to Sunderland Fan
Ross Appleby posted a few photos on the social media app, remembering his journey following the English club with his father. The final image saw the fan share a picture of him holding his dad’s hand, before he passed away last year due to cancer.
The emotional post from Ross was him sharing his grief about missing his father, but it went viral, with several Sunderland fans sharing it and dropping a message of support for him. He started with photos from the League One games until the Championship playoffs, and wrote (via SunderlandECHO): “Sunderland are finally back in the Premier League and smashing it dad. I miss you so much.”
Among the several comments was one from the current club captain, Granit Xhaka. The former Arsenal man vowed to keep fighting for Ross’ father on the pitch in every game they play for the club. The Swiss midfielder wrote: “We will fight for him in every game,” with a praying emoji and a heart.
The Black Cats have been giving it their all in the Premier League this season, doing much better than anyone predicted, astonishing even the club’s die-hard fans. Despite winning just two of their last five matches in the league, they sit sixth in the table, just 12 points off the leaders Arsenal and two points off fourth-placed Chelsea, whom they beat at Stamford Bridge this season.
Sunderland are in action this weekend at the Stadium of Light, where they host Leeds United, who also came up from the EFL Championship this season. While the home side is closer to the top, the Lillywhites are sitting just above the relegation zone with 19 points from 17 matches.
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Manager Regis Le Bris spoke about facing Leeds and said in his pre-match press conference (via YEP): “Yeah I like playing against Leeds to be fair because they are intense, they have a proactive style of play so it’s always a good game, an exciting game. After that, we know that some non-negotiable points will be key in this game, especially the intensity, the way we will defend on set pieces for example. It’s another challenge, especially at home but we are looking forward to it. Leeds are in good form at the moment, especially over the last four games.”
Captain Xhaka has scored once in the league this season, and it came in the 1-1 draw against Everton in November.
