ASTON VILLA: Guzan 5; Hutton 6, Richards 6, Clark 6, Amavi 8; Sanchez 7, Westwood 7; Bacuna 6 (Gil 68), GANA 8, Sinclair 7; Gestede 7. Subs: Bunn (Gk), Ayew, Veretout, Kozak, Cole, Bennett.

SUNDERLAND (4-3-3):

7 Pantilimon: Made a brilliant save to deny Westwood a winner late on when it looked like it would arrive;

5 Jones: Found it tough to contend with Amavi’s strong running and got little protection

8 Kaboul: A much improved display from the Frenchman and fans will hope it is a sign of things to come

6 O’Shea: Never at his best but still linked up better with Kaboul even though he was done for Sinclair’s second

5 Van Aanholt: Still needs to do more in both directions even if there was signs of improvement;

5 Rodwell: Struggled to get a foot hold on things and can still do more to help the team go forward

4 Cattermole: Will be disappointed with himself to have conceded the penalty in the manner he did

8 M’VILA: Aside from his brilliant free-kick, he was the man who looked capable of making Sunderland tick;

7 Lens: Found space a couple of times and took his goal well but Sunderland need more from him

4 Graham: Failed to hold things up in the final third even though he earned the free-kick which led to M’Vila opener

5 Defoe: Wasted a fantastic chance in the second half after working himself in behind the defence

Subs:

Toivonen (for Cattermole 46): Soon faded but was the starting point of Sunderland’s equaliser. 5

Fletcher (for Graham 46): Went close with a header just after the break. 5

Larsson (for Lens 77)

(not used): Coates, Mannone (gk), Watmore, Gooch.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Idrissa Gana – the £9m man made Villa tick and justified his price-tag by putting Sunderland on the back foot for long periods.