Swansea City 1 Sunderland 1

WHEN Jermain Defoe found the net at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday, he completed the notable feat of having scored against all 20 of the sides currently playing in the Premier League.

Time to rewrite the record books then – and when it comes to the in-form Sunderland striker, you can take that literally.

“I like to keep track of what I’ve done in my career and I normally write these kinds of things down,” said Defoe, who is the only player to have completed the full set of current Premier League victims. “I keep a note of things I’ve done, and that’s a little incentive to keep achieving things.

“I just write down lists – sometimes it’s things I’ve done, sometimes it’s things I want to do. If you’re talking about the Premier League, you can write a list down of the top 20 goalscorers, see where you are and try to move up it. If you look at it that way, it’s an incentive to keep scoring. You go into each game and you’re hungry and want to score goals.

“I didn’t know about this particular record, but it’s a nice one to have. On a personal note, things like that are always special to me. There are a couple of records I’m after, but I’m going to be keeping them to myself.”

On the evidence of the last two league games, the record for the most important signing of the January transfer window is also in the bag.

This was exactly the kind of game Sunderland would have lost prior to Defoe’s arrival from Toronto FC last month. Neat and industrious during the first half, but without a cutting edge, the visitors would have fallen behind when John O’Shea and Anthony Reveillere switched off to allow Ki Sung-Yueng to head home Kyle Naughton’s second-half cross had it not been for a moment of brilliance from Defoe.

Picking up the ball from Liam Bridcutt’s lay-off close to the halfway line shortly before the interval, the 32-year-old found himself without an obvious option. No matter. With the Swansea defence backing off, he drove forward ten yards, skipped around a hesitant Federico Fernandez and lashed a powerful low drive past Lukasz Fabianski.

When people talk about a striker having the ability to score a goal out of nothing, this is exactly what they mean, and for all that Gus Poyet has engineered some tactical improvements in the last few weeks, it is Defoe’s individual brilliance that has made the difference to Sunderland’s fortunes.

His first two Premier League goals for the club were scored in 192 minutes of action. In comparison, Jozy Altidore, the player he replaced, managed one goal in 2,080 minutes of fairly aimless ambling around. That’s less of a swap deal, and more a case of trading in a child’s painting by numbers kit for a vintage Van Gogh.

“I’ve been thinking he cannot play 90 minutes in every game, he’s had a little problem with his groin, but I cannot drop him,” said Poyet. “When someone scores goals, you cannot drop him. He’s going to have to die on the pitch!

“Without any doubt, we’re a different team with him. It’s about knowing you’ve got someone in there. It’s in the mind of the players. Before, we were always thinking about how we were going to create chances - most of the time, it took incredible goals. Now, the team knows that if you play a certain way and get the ball into good areas in the box, Jermain will do the rest.

“If he can get to ten (goals), then we’re going to finish the season in a very nice place. That's the aim, because that’s what he can do, and if he scores ten, I will be delighted.”

While Defoe’s predatory instincts are hardly a surprise given his track record throughout his career, his ability to make a seamless transition back into the Premier League has been a major boost given Sunderland’s obvious need to pull themselves away from trouble at the foot of the table.

Saturday’s point leaves them four points clear of the relegation places, and with the next three home games pitting them against QPR, West Brom and Aston Villa, there is every chance of the Black Cats improving their position still further if Defoe maintains his form.

“I always knew I’d be fine coming back,” said the striker. “When you’ve spent your whole career in the Premier League, and you’ve only been away for less than a year, it shouldn’t take you too long to get back into the swing of things.”

While Defoe’s goal came from Sunderland’s only shot on target, the visitors might have had a second-half penalty when Ricky Alvarez was felled in a tangle of legs inside the area.

However, with Costel Pantilimon producing fine saves to deny Bafetimbi Gomis and Nelson Oliveira, and Gomis also producing a glaring miss from the edge of the six-yard box, Swansea would have felt rightly aggrieved had they finished empty-handed.

“My character says I'm not happy with a draw, but I need to be realistic,” said Poyet. “Pantilimon made a couple of very good saves, so you cannot say we deserved to win.”