- Defoe scores late PK
- Arnautovic put Stoke up
- Black Cats slip into bottom three
- Stoke without a win in five
Stoke City and Sunderland drew 1-1 at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday with Jermain Defoe scoring a last-gasp equalizer to grab a big point for the Black Cats.
Stoke had taken the lead through Mark Arnautovic and went close to adding a second through Giannelli Imbula but Defoe went down in the box in stoppage time and stepped up to equalize.
With the point Sunderland now have 32 points with three games to go, while Stoke have 48 points.
[ MORE: Watch full PL match replays ]
Stoke started brightly and Peter Crouch’s header just missed Arnautovic and Vito Mannone tipped the ball wide for a corner.
Sunderland threatened on the break and Patrick van Aanholt hit a low drive which Jakob Haugaard gathered comfortably.
[ MORE: Latest Premier League standings ]
An even first half played out at the Britannia with Arnautovic whipping in a great ball from the left which just missed everyone, while Sunderland failed to pour forward.
Crouch went close again with another header after Phil Bardsely’s deep cross found him but his effort was inches away from creeping into the far bottom corner.
[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]
Arnautovic smashed an effort over after getting free in the box and Defoe forced Haugaard into a save down low but the first half ended 0-0.
11 - No Stoke player has scored more in a Premier League season than Arnautovic has this campaign (11). Reliable.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 30, 2016
[ MORE: Full lineups, stats, box score ]
Five minutes into the second half Arnautovic put Stoke in the lead with a cool finish as the Austrian has now scored 11 goals for the Potters in the PL this season.
Sunderland pushed for an equalizer and Defoe sent an overhead kick over the bar after Jan Kirchhoff’s cross and the Black Cats pinned Stoke back in their own half for the closing stages. A rare break forward from Stoke saw Imbula go clear but he missed a golden chance to wrap the three points up for Mark Hughes’ side and they were punished late on.
In stoppage time U.S. national team defender Geoff Cameron tripped Defoe in the box and the predatory forward picked himself and scored the spot kick. 1-1.
Sunderland’s players and fans celebrated like they’d won but coupled with Newcastle’s victory, they slip into the relegation zone. However, crucially, Sunderland have a game in hand.