Goals:

1-0: Huth OG (64, Kirchhoff’s misdirected header bounced off the defender and into his own net)

2-0: Defoe (77, instinctively hammered in the rebound after Watmore’s shot was blocked)

2-1: Okazaki (80, moved to the near post to turn in Gray’s ideal delivery from the left)

Bookings: Van Aanholt (66, simulation); Larsson (71, foul) Djilobodji (78, foul); Fuchs (82, foul)

Referee: Andre Marriner (Walsall) – should have given Sunderland a penalty when van Aanholt went down in the box and made a few strange decisions. 4

Attendance: 39, 725

Entertainment: ***

Sund Leic

Shots on 6 4

Shots off 16 9

Corners 3 3

Fouls 8 11

Offsides 1 3

SUNDERLAND (4-3-2-1):

7 Pickford: Didn’t have too many saves to make but he did what he had to before making an outstanding late stop to prevent an equaliser;

7 Jones: Might not be as fashionable as many attacking full-backs but has been integral to Sunderland’s recent revival

7 Kone: Is returning to somewhere near his best and this was probably the pick so far

8 DJILOBODJI: Arguably his best performance in a red and white shirt; distributing things nicely and defending strongly

6 van Aanholt: Unfortunate not to earn a penalty but rightly booked for diving;

6 Ndong: Didn’t make the sort of impact he is capable of although still frustrated the Foxes middle men

5 Denayer: Had not been as effective as he has been in recent games and gave the ball away cheaply a few times

6 Pienaar: Had enjoyed a positive opening half before Albrighton’s barge into him before the break cost him more minutes;

6 Watmore: Had a key role to play in the second goal before being forced off through injury

8 Anichebe: Has brought an extra dimension to the Sunderland attacks with his power and direct play;

6 Defoe: Still found the net again even if he wasn’t at his best during the 90 minutes.

Subs:

Kirchhoff (for Pienaar 46): More minutes under his belt and an assist. 6

Larsson (for Deanyer 46): Hard to believe this was his first Premier League outing since May. 7

Manquillo (for Watmore 85)

Subs: Mannone (gk), O’Shea, Januzaj, Khazri.

LEICESTER CITY (4-4-1-1): Zieler 6; Simpson 4, Huth 4, MORGAN 7, Fuchs 5; Mahrez 5 (Musa 73), Amartey 6, King 6, Albrighton 6 (Gray 73); Slimani 6 (Okazaki 68, 7), Vardy 5. Subs: Hamer, Hernandez, Schlupp, Mendy.

MAN OF THE MATCH: PAPY Djilobodji – finally showed the sort of defensive quality that led to Sunderland agreeing a deal with Chelsea worth £8m in the summer.