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.
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