Sunderland ended 2015 with defeat against Liverpool after a Christian Benteke goal 30 seconds into the second-half saw off the Black Cats.
Despite a much-improved display from Sam Allardyce’s side, there is cause for concern for the manager. Jack Rodwell limped off with yet another injury during the first half, whilst Sebastian Coates also went off injured – adding to Sunderland’s centre-half crisis as Billy Jones was forced to cover.
Fabio Borini and Jermain Defoe both forced Simon Mignolet into smart saves, but the man of the match was Vito Mannone – the Italian stopper producing several key saves to keep the Black Cats in the game.
A finger-tip stop from Firmino pushed his shot onto the post, whilst in the dying stages he secured his place in the first team by denying Christian Benteke a chance to wrap up the points. In the last minute he almost scored the equaliser after heading a corner across the face of goal.
Here are some snapshots from the match last night:
