MX23RW : Tuesday, November 5 14:36:44| >> :120:15787:15787:

Match Analysis: Sunderland 0-0 Leicester City

Sports Mole looks back over the 0-0 draw between Sunderland and Leicester City at the Stadium of Light.

Neither Sunderland nor Leicester City could find the net during a 0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light this afternoon.

The hosting Black Cats created a couple of good chances during the first half, while the Foxes looked to utilise their pace on the counter-attack whenever possible.

Here, Sports Mole has looked back over the encounter to determine if the result was a fair one, or whether one side deserved to claim all three points.

Match statistics

SUNDERLAND
Shots: 13
On target: 3
Possession: 51%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 14

LEICESTER
Shots: 11
On target: 0
Possession: 49%
Corners: 9
Fouls: 15

Was the result fair?

The home side may have created more and slightly better chances, but Kasper Schmeichel was not forced into making an outstanding save. Everything that the Dane had to do was relatively routine for a goalkeeper of his calibre. What's more, the possession was almost equal and so it's hard to split these two sides. A draw was fair.

Sunderland's performance

Dick Advocaat's men started off at a good pace, but they failed to make the most of their chances, with Danny Graham in particular guilty of wasting a couple of good openings. In hindsight, it's difficult to imagine that Jermain Defoe would have missed those chances, but he was once again played out wide and struggled to get involved.

The clean sheet will of course be pleasing for Advocaat, but he will be frustrated overall because a win would have guaranteed his side Premier League survival with two tricky-looking games to come.

Leicester's performance

While this performance was perhaps not as memorable as other recent outings in this impressive run of results, it was equally impressive, albeit for different reasons.

During the first half, the pace and movement of Jamie Vardy threatened to cause problems, but too often the final ball was lacking. That continued after the restart, but there was at least more purpose about Leicester's play in an attacking sense.

What will have delighted Nigel Pearson is the way that his team defended. They gave little away and when they did, Schmeichel was on hand to thwart the danger. It's a result that has secured Premier League football next term, which is a remarkable achievement given where they were just a few weeks ago.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Marc Albrighton: Once again the former Aston Villa player excelled in the right wing-back position. He got forward ever so well and caused plenty of problems, so much so that he was fouled by Sunderland players on a number of occasions. Albrighton has ended this season well and should be heading into next term with plenty of confidence.

Biggest gaffe

Of course, it could have been even better for the visitors when a golden chance fell to substitute Andrej Kramaric in stoppage time. Following an error by Sunderland goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon, the Leicester striker had the goal at his mercy, but he somehow missed the target.

Referee performance

Martin Atkinson wasn't shy to brandish his yellow card, even during the first half. But, to his credit, every caution was warranted. It was a decent outing from the man with the whistle.

What next?

Sunderland: The Black Cats play their game in hand on Wednesday night at the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal. Then, the season concludes with a trip to champions Chelsea.

Leicester: Meanwhile, the curtain will come down on Leicester's season next Sunday afternoon at home to already relegated Queens Park Rangers.

ID:223073: cacheID:223073:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6119:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Leicester City players celebrate avoiding relegation during the Barclays Premier League match between Sunderland and Leicester City at Stadium of Light on May 16, 2015
Read Next:
Leicester secure safety with goalless draw
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland139222391429
2Leeds UnitedLeeds137512281426
3Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd138321661025
4Burnley136521761123
5Watford137152221122
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom13562148621
7Millwall135441612419
8Blackburn RoversBlackburn135441614219
9Bristol City134721717019
10Norwich CityNorwich134632318518
11Middlesbrough135351415-118
12Swansea CitySwansea13445109116
13Coventry CityCoventry134361717015
14Derby CountyDerby134361617-115
15Hull City133641517-215
16Stoke CityStoke134361518-315
17Cardiff CityCardiff134361319-615
18Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds134361524-915
19Oxford UnitedOxford Utd133551617-114
20Preston North EndPreston133551420-614
21Luton TownLuton133371521-612
22Plymouth ArgylePlymouth133371325-1212
23Queens Park RangersQPR131751119-810
24Portsmouth131661326-139


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!