
Papers: Declan Rice sends message to Arsenal team-mates over title race
Declan Rice reassured Arsenal teammates that the title race is still alive despite their recent loss to Manchester City.
Sunderland lost a thrilling match against Aston Villa, scoring three goals but conceding four. Chris Rigg celebrated his first Premier League goal, while the team struggled defensively despite a strong attacking performance.
What a great moment in the first half as Rigg curled a beautiful shot into the far corner for his first goal in the Premier League. A lovely team move for a very encouraging equaliser.
How many times? Beautiful and well-deserved goals from Trai Hume and Wilson Isidor gave the game a superb ending. Just as it was petering out, what a barnstorming finish â and we could easily have won it before that killer blow. Despite the scoreline, I felt we matched Villa for most of the game. The Villans absolutely had the edge in the final third, but it was a good game of football and I think we can hold our heads up for our display at Villa Park. Thereâs a lot to take from this game and if we play like this for the remaining games, weâll pick up more points.
As mentioned, itâs in attack that we arenât lethal enough. wasnât in the game much and we didnât manage to get the ball into him. On many occasions, our problem was an over-hit pass or not enough composure on the ball. We need to address our striking options and forward play for next season.
The final score was Aston Villa 4, Sunderland 3.
Sunderland's goals were scored by Chris Rigg, Trai Hume, and Wilson Isidor.
Sunderland struggled defensively, conceding four goals, and lacked firepower in attack, particularly with Brian Brobbey's limited involvement.
Despite the loss, Sunderland's performance showcased their attacking potential and secured their Premier League safety, leaving room for optimism in future matches.

Declan Rice reassured Arsenal teammates that the title race is still alive despite their recent loss to Manchester City.

Chelsea struggles with scoring; is it bad luck or deeper issues?
How Bernardo Silva's Contributions Have Transformed Man City
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi warns rivals: 'I can change the game!'
Antoine Kombouaré criticized Italian football following a victory over Metz. Meanwhile, Erling Haaland expressed admiration for Rayan Cherki.
See every story in Sports â including breaking news and analysis.
There isnât another negative, other than what an absolute shame we didnât get anything from the game.
Well battled, lads.
Much has been said about our perceived lack of creativity going forward and a lack of goals from a side which was built on a solid defence. That was turned on its head but it must be acknowledged that we scored three good goals and really took the game to Villa â particularly during the first half and then in the latter stages of the game.
Hume has had to settle for a place on the bench recently, but heâs played more minutes than any other player in our squad this season and has made such a huge contribution to whatâs been an outstanding season for Sunderland. He took his goal well after coming on as a sub and deserved his moment at Villa Park.
Weâve been excellent at the back this season and Iâve enjoyed watching the way weâve been so well organised and disciplined â both collectively and individually â but we struggled to contain Villa and Ollie Watkins in particular. Whilst theyâre chasing Champions League qualification, it was disappointing to concede four goals in a match. We looked so open at times and Luke OâNien (whoâs performed well during his recent run in the team), looked way below the standard required for the Premier League yesterday. Iâm a huge admirer of OâNien and would certainly not bet against him putting this game behind him and responding well in his next appearance, regardless of whether he keeps his place for Forest or not.
With Premier League safety secured, we had nothing to lose against high-flying Villa and we gave them a real fright, scoring three goals away from home. Habib Diarraâs miss aside, had we defended to the level weâve done so often this season, we couldâve claimed one of the results of the campaign. It was a missed opportunity to really stake our claim for a top half finish, but all things considered, no damage has been done and thereâs no shame in losing at Villa.
We scored three goals away from home in a very close game against a top team. In some ways, the change of tactics in taking Brian Brobbey off for Wilson Isidor came too late in the game, but the changes worked magnificently as we came back from 1-3 down to level at 3-3. We shouldâve crossed more balls in for the Dutchman in the first hour of the game, when he was underused.
Again, this team, whatever the formation and precise line-up, is totally irrepressible and donât know when theyâre beaten. Aston Villa are a proper football club, but we matched them for much of the game, which strongly illustrates the successful season weâve had.
We played our part in a very entertaining game of football. It had everything: Sunderland going behind and making a great comeback, but losing concentration at the very end. Obviously, I would rather have come away from Villa Park with a victory, but the fans I spoke with afterwards, and even the neutrals, found the game engaging, skilful and compelling.
Normally, this team loves to defend, and does it very well.
Being at Villa Park means that Iâve not seen the goals replayed yet, but I would say that at least two came from errors, which is unusual. Perhaps more caution in the first thirty minutes wouldâve been called for â even starting with a back five.
This team is young and learning, as is our head coach, so the key take-home messages will not be ignored after conceding four goals.
We took it to a Champions League-elect team and nearly pulled off a huge comeback win on their turf. While the disappointment cuts deep, just read that back and let it soak in. That was us. While we ultimately came away with nothing, coming from 3-1 down to make that such a great game took some huge cojones and our lads did that in our first season at this level. If we can do that now, the sky is the limit next season, as this group will only get better. Ten out of ten for the lads giving it a huge go. Sunderland of the recent past wouldâve capitulated and lost that about 6-1, but not these boys.
The three goals we scored were fantastic, and none of them were by Brian Brobbey. Iâd have liked to seen the big fella more involved; he was marshalled well but for three others to step up and score such lovely goals showed a lot of promise and hopefully us a good sign for the run in. We couldâve sat deeply and limited the damage after Villa scored their third, but the lads gave it their all and on another day, we wouldâve taken something away. Great finishing by all three, and Brobbey can rest easily as others are there to step up too.
I donât like to dig players out but the combination of how good the Villa strikers were and some errors at crucial times looked to me like this was a stretch too far for Luke OâNien. Ollie Watkins scored both of his goals by losing a man and being clinical with a good chance. For both goals, he seemed to have had way too much room and I canât help feeling that with Dan Ballard fit enough for a full game, we may not have conceded one or two of those three goals. OâNien has put in some great shifts to help the team and maybe it was the fact Watkins was just too good, but Iâm pleased that Ballard is back as weâll need a better defensive showing than that for the remaining fifteen points on offer.
With Everton losing the Merseyside derby, we couldâve gone sixth if Habib Diarra had squared the ball or dinked it a foot higher. The upside is that we still have five games in which to do that, and with a tighter defence and the lads playing as well as they did at times, we have a great chance of nicking a top eight berth. Yesterday was a wrench but I think we have to focus on the positives and use those to kick on during the remaining games. Well done, lads. Despite the loss and some of the errors, you still made me proud that my team almost pulled that off.