2 Up, 2 Down: Gritty Sunderland Give Manchester United A Scare

John Wilson says…

The Lads battle hard!

A great battling performance from the lads throughout the whole game. We were obviously up for the game and in that opening period, we were certainly the better team — even the away fans stopped chanting! Everyone put in a shift and they’re certainly in there fighting for each other. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Enzo Le Fée dazzles once again

Many players stood out and there were many players on display who could walk into most teams, but my ‘man of the match’ award goes to the magician. He never stopped harrying, carrying and probing. A joy to watch.

A duff refereeing display

How can a top referee leave his cards in the dressing room? That’s what must’ve happened. No show until the second half, and from my viewpoint, he got many decisions wrong. A poor display. What’s new?

Robin Roefs’ distribution

I wasn’t going to do a second negative, but Roefs, lad! How many times does he need to get caught with the ball? He hasn’t learnt his lesson.

Lars Knutsen says…

Some incisive football played throughout

We played incisive, sharp attacking football and weren’t overawed against Manchester United. The commentators agreed with Sunderland fans at regular intervals that the home team should be ahead after creating several useful chances. The midfield was dominant, and on any other day, we would’ve won that game, given the intensity we showed.

A solid Sunderland defence

The defence was very solid and our opponents, who’ve just qualified for the Champions League, were limited to just a few half-chances and rarely troubled Robin Roefs in goal. This was despite the controversial absence of Dan Ballard, so this match really represented a major recovery from the record 0-5 home defeat against Nottingham Forest. There was no visible nervousness or hesitation in a dominant and resolute performance.

The Lads fail to take their chances

Our approach work was excellent and that led to several excellent chances to go ahead, but we lacked a killer instinct and therefore let United off the hook. This is something that needs to be addressed in summer recruitment planning — being safely in mid-table is great, but only Crystal Palace, Burnley and Wolves have scored fewer than we have this season.

Wilson Isidor is ignored again

We attacked well as mentioned, but I can’t help feeling that Isidor should be played with Brian Brobbey, as they may well complement each other. I saw the impact Isidor made when coming on live at Villa Park; he’s a proven goal scorer and I don’t see why we can’t let these two strikers play together for the last couple of games.

Malc Dugdale says…

Sunderland get back to their feisty best

After shipping nine goals against Aston Villa and Forest and then having to play for seventy five minutes with ten men away at Wolves but still gain a point, this was a great showing. We were the better side; the team who deserved to nick that. We came up via the playoffs and we just took the game to Manchester United, who have already qualified for the 2026/2027 Champions League…and we’re disappointed we didn’t win. Let that sink in, and if anyone feels miserable after that, get a Newcastle shirt on your back, as you’re catching the ‘overly entitled’ bug very early, that’s for sure.

Lutsharel Geertruida impresses

Whether we keep Geertruida or sell him, he did a massive job of showing his abilities and deserves a lot of credit. He worked his arse off and hit the post too — and a goal would’ve made him ‘man of the match’ for most. Chuffed for the lad, and maybe we would reconsider his future as he has a lot of talent we need for next season.

A defensive masterclass

You would have no idea we were missing Dan Ballard — what a defensive showing! The lads reorganised, worked their socks off and kept a clean sheet with very little help from the goalkeeper. Nordi Mukiele and Omar Alderete also looked great, so well done to all. Top work after the ‘goals against’ column had taken a right beating.

Some poor finishing proves costly

I’m not sure if it was down to Sunderland not being efficient enough or a poor visiting side finding a way to keep us out, but we’ve played a lot of games this season where we’ve created less and scored, so it was tough to not get three points. Brian Brobbey was decent enough but we need more, as teams are working him out a bit. It’ll be interesting to see what the transfer market brings as with that killer instinct, we could’ve won very comfortably.

Tom Albrighton says…

A red and white wall

After the embarrassment of last week, it was delightful to see Sunderland return to a more traditional style, combative and aggressive. It really suits our style to battle teams physically and the fact it took until well into the eightieth minute for United to muster a shot on target says a lot. Looking more assured from set pieces was also a great help.

Our European hopes may be over — but is that a bad thing?

Admittedly a strange one to put into the ‘positive’ column, but hear me out. With almost 50% of the division looking likely to be playing regularly midweek next season, upping their games to well beyond fifty, it may suit us to have missed out — despite our valiant efforts — and to allow us to focus primarily on survival next season.

A striking dilemma?

We don’t score through a lack of effort but we really do need to look at our attacking output for next season. Although we looked a threat throughout and really should’ve scored, we lack that deadly mix of composure and killer instinct. The good thing is that we have players that can learn those traits and given our recruitment, if we feel we don’t have the personnel at our disposal, you’d back us to find them this summer.

Some delayed substitutions?

I may be nitpicking but it was disappointing to not see some more aggressive subs later on. Trai Hume had visibly struggled during the second half, so not seeing the introduction of Chris Rigg was surprising when we were chasing some quality in the final third. Many would also have liked to have seen the involvement of Wilson Isidor or that of Eliezer Mayenda come sooner, especially when Sunderland were turning the screw. In the end, we were late to the play and United managed to change shape, which helped them see the game out. In a league of fine margins, having a gamble fifteen minutes from full time might’ve swayed it.