An own goal from Titus Bramble was enough for Manchester United to claim all three points from their trip to Sunderland this afternoon.
The home defender put through his own net midway into the first half when he stuck out a leg in attempt to clear Robin van Persie's low shot, but he only succeeded in turning the ball beyond Simon Mignolet in the home goal.
Sports Mole looks back over the clash to determine if the Black Cats can argue that they should have claimed a draw.
Match statistics:
Sunderland:
Shots 9
On target 1
Possession 38%
Corners 3
Fouls 12
Man United:
Shots 14
On target 8
Possession 62%
Corners 6
Fouls 9
Was the result fair?
On paper a 1-0 scoreline always makes a match look close. However, visiting Man United were extremely good value for their victory. They were completely dominant during the first half and even though there was an improvement of sorts from the home team, it was by no means enough for them to argue that they deserved a share of the spoils.
Sunderland's performance
If ever a display summed up Sunderland's campaign, this was it. During the first 45 minutes they offered virtually no threat to the United defence and even when things improved slightly during the second half, they still didn't look like scoring. One plus would be the introduction of young Connor Wickham because he allowed them to revert to a 4-4-2 formation. That gave the away side something to defend against.
Man United's performance
Quite simply, it was the performance of champions. It wasn't always pretty - particularly after the restart - but they got the job done. Some of the football that they played during the first half was a joy to watch and they could have been leading by more. Then, when they were required to defend, the likes of Nemanja Vidic and Jonny Evans carried out their duties with great stubbornness.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Michael Carrick: Such is the ability that Carrick possesses, he made things look ever so easy today. Time and again he collected the ball in the middle of the pitch and more often than not he picked out a teammate. When Sunderland came back into the match in the second half, the England midfielder was able to settle things down by holding on to the ball until another United player became available.
Biggest gaffe
There were a few contenders for this award, but Sunderland's former United defender John O'Shea claims it. Early in the second half he headed the ball straight to Van Persie, who was then hauled down by the Irish defender in a dangerous area. To make matters worse, O'Shea was also booked for his troubles.
Referee performance
Kevin Friend is widely regarded as one of the better referees in the Premier League and he showed why today. Only one of the bookings - handed to Van Persie - was questionable. He also played advantage whenever it was possible before going back to the offender and booking him.
What next?
Sunderland: It doesn't get much easier for Sunderland, who face a trip to Rafael Benitez's Chelsea next Sunday.
Man United: It's a quick turnaround for the Red Devils as they travel down to London on Easter Monday for an FA Cup quarter-final replay, which is also against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Liam Apicella
