- Sunderland partook in seven-goal thriller
- Narrowly fell to defeat
- Result has negative effect in Premier League table
Sunderland have slipped outside the top half of the Premier League after suffering defeat at the hands of Aston Villa.
The Black Cats got off to the worst possible start at Villa Park, with Ollie Walkins scoring just two minutes into the match.
Chris Rigg responded with a superb effort seven minutes later, but Watkins had the ball in the net again before half-time.
Morgan Rogers gave Aston Villa a 3-1 lead, but Sunderland struck back towards the end, with two goals in two minutes scored by Trai Hume and Wilson Isidor.
Habib Diarra should really have won the game for the visitors in stoppage time, but he had a close range effort saved.
Moments later, Tammy Abraham caused heartbreak for Sunderland by finding the winner for his team in the 93rd minute.
Sunderland fail to reclaim top 10 position
Bournemouth’s win against Newcastle on Saturday saw Sunderland fall to 11th place, which is where they remain after losing in Birmingham.
However, Chelsea also dropped points this weekend, meaning Regis Le Bris’ team are still only two points off the top six.
With Liverpool beating Everton, anything higher than that is well and truly out of the picture, but the important thing is that Sunderland’s European dream is still alive.
Sunderland play again on Friday
The next time Sunderland play is on Friday night against Nottingham Forest, who just thrashed Burnley to move clear of the relegation zone.
Vitor Pereira’s team are now unbeaten in seven successive matches across all competitions, showing how much they have improved in such a short space of time.
Sunderland will then face off against Wolverhampton Wanderers the following weekend, who are of course bottom of the Premier League table.
