Sunderland dominated Burnley to continue an impressive promotion campaign for the Black Cats with a 3-0 win at the Stadium of Light.
Habib Diarra was the star man, scoring and forcing an own goal out of Axel Tuanzebe before Chemsdine Talbi’s classy goal put the finishing touches on the three-goal win.
WATCH — Sunderland v Burnley full match replay
Burnley had possession without intent, as just five shot attempts and 0.06 expected goals came from 56% of the ball.
Sunderland climb into eighth place with 36 points, three behind sixth-place Liverpool, while Burnley’s 15 points leave them 11 points off 17th-place Nottingham Forest.
Burnley in big, big trouble ahead of must-win
Eleven points from safety is a big gap but it’s the lack of hope that is killing Burnley at the moment. The Clarets look bereft of confidence and Scott Parker is at wits end. Their defense is terrible at the moment, and promoted sides that can’t find a few 1-0 fortunate wins along the way are almost always going to back down. Burnley’s attack isn’t good but they have scored multiple goals on eight occasions. They are still just 3W-3D-2L in those games. Any sort of win would go a long way for Parker, who hasn’t overseen a Premier League victory since October 26’s 3-2 win over Wolves. The Clarets’ three wins this season are over two promoted clubs and the 20th-place side threatening to post the worst record in PL history. Burnley really needed a point on Monday. If Parker cannot rally his team and new charge James Ward-Prowse to a good performance at home to West Ham on Saturday, they will watch the rest of the hope tank spill out onto the ground.
What’s next?
Sunderland are off to Sunderland at 10am ET Saturday, followed by a tough follow-up as Liverpool visit on February 11.
Burnley host West Ham at 10am Saturday, then go to Crystal Palace on February 11.
Sunderland vs Burnley final score: 3-0
Axel Tuanzebe o.g. 9', Habib Diarra 32', Chemsdine Talbi 72'
Sunderland vs Burnley live updates — by Nick Mendola
Sunderland subs
Diarra, Talbi, and Brobbey were all big parts of this game and all are leaving in the 80th minute, as Romaine Mundle, Lutsharel Geertruida, and Wilson Isidor enter the fray.
Chemsdine Talbi golazo (video) — Sunderland 3-0 Burnley
Talbi cuts around Josh Laurent and Tchouana can’t close down the space before the Moroccan curves a gorgeous ball inside the far post.
Mini-fracas, three Burnley subs
Dubravka takes exception to sliding into the legs of Trai Hume and there’s a coming-together and pair of yellow cards.
Burnley have made three moves, plugging in attackers Armando Broja, Zian Flamming, and Loum Tchaouna for Marcus Edwards, Lyle Foster, and Florentino.
Player change, score change
Sunderland’s first goal is now being ruled an Axel Tuanzebe own goal, so Habib Diarra’s no longer on a hat trick.
Josh Laurent replaces Tuanzebe at the break for Burnley.
Halftime — Sunderland 2-0 Burnley
Burnley were close to a bore there. Down two, you’d expect some sort of attacking impetus especially with Sunderland still missing Granit Xhaka.
Nope.
With James Ward-Prowse, Zian Flemming, and others on the bench, surely Scott Parker is going to ring in some changes.
Habib Diarra — Sunderland 2-0 Burnley
More joy at the Stadium of Light.
Diarra is on the spot to fire home a cross that is partially-blocked by a sliding Florentino.
Dubravka gets a hand to it but it’s not enough. The ex-Newcastle man probably should’ve done better against his former rivals.
Habib Diarra goal — Sunderland 1-0 Burnley
If at first you don’t succeed, have another chop at it.
Brian Brobbey flicks the ball to Habib Diarra, whose shot is blocked by Maxime Esteve but returns to him.
Diarra’s next effort is only partially blocked, moving off Axel Tuanzebe’s leg to beat Martin Dubravka.
Sunderland lineup
Roefs, Mukiele, Ballard, Alderete, Reinildo, Hume, Sadiki, Le Free, Talbi, Diarra, Brobbey
Burnley lineup
Dubravka, Walker, Esteve, Tuanzebe, Pires, Humphreys, Florentino, Ugochukwu, Anthony, Edwards, Foster
Sunderland vs Burnley preview — by Joe Prince-Wright
Regis Le Bris saw his side hammered 3-1 at West Ham last time out and the loss of captain Granit Xhaka to injury has hit the Black Cats hard. Still, they are having an unbelievable season and a win would take them level on points with seventh-place Brentford. However, they did lose the reverse fixture to Burnley and have struggled against more direct teams.
Burnley are without a win in 14 Premier League games but Scott Parker’s side have drawn five of their last seven games. They drew 2-2 at home against Spurs last weekend and their last three games have seen them draw against Man United, Liverpool and Spurs. But they are 11 points from safety and badly need a win to keep their faint hopes of staying up alive.
Sunderland team news, focus
Xhaka remains out with an ankle injury, while Bertrand Traore and Arthur Masuaku are also missing. It will be intriguing to see who starts in midfield in place of Xhaka with Habib Diarra likely to start alongside Noah Sadiki and Enzo Le Fee going back to his usual spot out wide. Brian Brobbey is Sunderland’s main threat up top and they will look to get the ball wide early and whip in crosses galore for him to attack.
Burnley team news, focus
Parker has found a pragmatic 3-4-2-1 system for his side but they need to take a few more risks to try and get themselves out of the relegation zone. New signing James Ward-Prowse adds real quality from set pieces, while Armando Broja has been a proper handful up top and Martin Dubravka has put in some great displays in goal to keep them in games.
Sunderland vs Burnley prediction
This feels like it will be a really tight game that Sunderland will edge to keep their brilliant season on track. Sunderland 2-1 Burnley.
How to watch Sunderland vs Burnley live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3pm ET Monday (February 2)
Venue: Stadium of Light — Sunderland
TV Channel: USA
Streaming: Watch on USA Network
