Sunderland produced a gutsy rearguard action to preserve their Premier League status with a tense 0-0 draw against Arsenal on Wednesday.
Dick Advocaat’s side knew a point at the Emirates Stadium would be enough to guarantee their survival and they achieved that with an obdurate defensive display that kept Arsenal at bay despite a barrage of pressure from the hosts.
Superbly marshaled by holding midfielder Lee Cattermole and central defenders Sebastian Coates and John O’Shea, Sunderland still needed a fine performance from goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon to emerge unscathed.
Photo: EPA
The Black Cats, now four points clear of third-from-bottom Hull City, can start planning for next season instead of nervously facing a decisive trip to champions Chelsea in Sunday’s final round of fixtures.
“Arsenal were the better side, but our organization was unbelievably good. The emotion was so high,” said Advocaat, who left the pitch crying tears of joy after the game. “It’s an unbelievable feeling that we did it by ourselves. The players gave everything to stay up.”
Despite failing to win for the fourth time in their past five matches, Arsenal have likely done enough to secure a third-place finish and automatic qualification for next season’s Champions League group stage.
Arsene Wenger’s team are three points clear of fourth-placed Manchester United with a significantly better goal difference with only one match to play.
Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere had an early chance to mark his return with a goal when he raced onto an Alexis Sanchez pass, only to poke his shot tamely at Pantilimon.
Wilshere had another sight of goal when Aaron Ramsey teed him up just inside the penalty area, yet once again the midfielder could not find the required accuracy as he blazed high over the crossbar.
Unsurprisingly, Sunderland seemed intent solely on soaking up the pressure with a view to catching the Gunners on the break.
However, even when they did launch a rare counterattack, the paucity of their ambition was laid bare when Sunderland left-back Patrick van Aanholt sprinted 50m before looking up to discover not a single teammate had made a supporting run.
Wenger’s side almost conjured a breathtaking opener when Wilshere floated a delicate chipped pass to Olivier Giroud, who waited for the ball to drop over his shoulder before volleying narrowly past the far post.
Jack Rodwell and Steven Fletcher came on for Sunderland at the interval and Advocaat’s changes almost paid immediate dividends.
Adam Johnson slipped a pass to Fletcher down the right channel and the Sunderland striker’s snap-shot drew a good save from David Ospina.
After a complete lack of activity in the first half, Ospina was suddenly in the thick of the action and he had to save with his feet after Van Aanholt found space for a low drive.
Wenger’s side responded strongly as Giroud met a Hector Bellerin cross with a flicked effort that Pantilimon clawed away before Kieran Gibbs’ looping header drew another acrobatic stop from the Sunderland goalkeeper.
Fletcher almost caught Arsenal off guard when he latched onto a Jermain Defoe pass and sprinted clear, but the Scot could not get enough height on his chip and Ospina was able to save.
Theo Walcott came on for his 300th Arsenal appearance midway through the half, but his arrival was overshadowed by Fletcher wasting a glorious chance to put the visitors ahead when he sliced Van Aanholt’s cross over from close range with only Ospina to beat.
Sunderland were straining every sinew to keep Arsenal at bay, with one brilliant block from Coates denying Sanchez, yet Billy Jones almost undermined their efforts when the defender deflected Ramsey’s cross onto his own woodwork.
In a nervous finale, substitute Tomas Rosicky dragged his shot wide and Pantilimon made a fine stop to deny Walcott’s powerful strike before Sunderland’s ecstatic players and fans could finally celebrate.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS