Sunderland twice came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at the Stadium of Light this afternoon.
Nacer Chadli gave Spurs the lead within the first two minutes, but Adam Johnson equalised almost immediately for the home side.
Christian Eriksen was rewarded for his impressive performance with a goal early in the second half, but Harry Kane's own goal gifted a point to Sunderland with around 10 minutes left to play.
Here, Sports Mole dissects how the game unfolded on Wearside.
Match statistics
Sunderland
Shots: 6
On target: 1
Possession: 37%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 10
Tottenham
Shots: 15
On target: 6
Possession: 63%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 13
Was the result fair?
Sunderland deserve credit for coming from behind twice in the match, but overall, Tottenham were the better team in terms of their attacking play and possession domination. It was a blistering start from both sides in the first half, which resulted in two early goals, but Spurs controlled the majority of the game. Sunderland managed to create opportunities, but they were not in control of the game at any stage, despite being on home turf.
Sunderland's performance
They showed great grit and determination to get back into contention twice after going a goal down, and their defensive performance didn't let them down as they prevented Tottenham from getting shots on goal. However, the Black Cats struggled to create many clear-cut opportunities and were only gifted a point due to Kane's own goal.
Tottenham Hotspur's performance
Mauricio Pochettino would have been happy with his team's approach as they stormed out of the blocks to take an early lead. In an attacking sense, their link-up play was impressive, with Chadli and Christian Eriksen influential for the North London outfit. They will feel that they deserved all three points after taking a 2-1 lead in the second half, but Spurs allowed Sunderland to get back into the game instead of killing it off.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Christian Eriksen: His goal may have been a tap in, but Eriksen caused plenty of problems for the Black Cats by carrying out his role well in between midfield and attack. The 22-year-old was involved in the majority of attacking plays for Tottenham and was unfortunate not to be on the winning side this afternoon.
Biggest gaffe
Harry Kane will probably want to erase this game from his memory after scoring an own goal with just under 10 minutes left in the game. In fairness, the ball just bounced off his thigh and into the back of the net, but there were three defenders covering one Sunderland man, so the ball should have been cleared.
Referee performance
Craig Pawson had a few penalty shouts to contend with, but made the right calls for all of them. It was well into the second half before the referee issued his first yellow card, but he could have faced a lot of criticism had a free kick for Tottenham resulted in a goal. The away side were awarded the set piece after a challenge from Lee Cattermole on Danny Rose, but replays showed that Rose dived just outside of the area.
What next?
Sunderland: The Black Cats travel to Burnley in the Premier League next Saturday.
Tottenham: After some midweek Europa League action, Spurs take on West Bromwich Albion next weekend at White Hart Lane.
Danielle Joynson
