Goals:
1-0: Gray (31, left free to move clear on goal and beat Mannone after Djilobodji stupidly went to jump with O’Shea and Barnes)
2-0: Gray (51, stayed on his feet after a pull from Djilobodji before rounding Mannone and slotting into the empty net)
3-0: Gray (53, clinically beat Mannone with a first time finish after Barnes had played him behind the defence)
4-0: Barnes pen (67, sent Mannone the wrong way after Larsson had barged over Arfield)
4-1: Defoe (71, beat Heaton from close range after good work from Januzaj)
Bookings: Jones (43, foul); Marney (45, foul)
Referee: Graham Scott (Abingdon) – allowed the game to flow and Sunderland didn’t even have the official to blame because the home side had more complaints. 6
Attendance: 21,124
Entertainment: ***
Burn Sund
Shots on 6 3
Shots off 10 8
Corners 6 2
Fouls 10 8
Offsides 3 2
SUNDERLAND (4-2-3-1):
3 Mannone: Not the return to action he would have hoped for even if he had little help from those in front of him;
5 Jones: Clumsy, late challenge on Ward earned him a fifth yellow and a ban for the Liverpool visit
6 KONE: Had started reasonably brightly but hobbled off after colliding with an advertising board
3 Djilobodji: What was he doing for the first? And he didn’t get any better after that either
4 van Aanholt: Looked better going forward but he normally does;
4 O’Shea: Unable to have the impact at the back that was required even if he would have liked more time in midfield
5 Larsson: Made some silly tackles and clumsily conceded the penalty for barging into Arfield;
6 Anichebe: Had held the ball up well when he was asked to but then suffered the killer hamstring blow at the end of the first half
4 Borini: Didn’t provide much of a threat at all, with the exception of a wayward volley
5 Januzaj: Still looks weak on the ball but did have a couple of decent runs and set up Defoe’s goal;
5 Defoe: Another game and another goal, imagine if Ellis Short sold him to West Ham in January!
Subs:
Ndong (for Kone 24): Will be heading away soon and this wasn’t a performance Sunderland will miss. 4
Pienaar (for Anichebe 46): Slipped over in possession in build up to the third. 4
Love (for O’Shea 72)
(not used): Mika (gk), Khazri, Rodwell, Manquillo.
BURNLEY (4-4-1-1): Heaton 6; Lowton 7, Keane 7, Mee 6, Ward 7; Boyd 6, Defour 6 (Gudmundsson 67, 5), Marney 7, Arfield 6; Barnes 8 (Tarkowski 85); GRAY 9 (Vokes 78). Subs (not used): Robinson, Bamford, O'Neill, Darikwa.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Andre Gray – during a Sunderland season that seems to be all about Jermain Defoe, Burnley’s leading scorer did the damage to the Black Cats’ dreadful defence.
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