Wasteful Burnley held by Sunderland in stalemate at Turf Moor
It was a frustrating evening for Vincent Kompany’s side, who struggled to regain their impetus after a sluggish start to the match. They took nearly half an hour to register their first meaningful chance, as Anthony Patterson pushed away Taylor Harwood-Bellis’ close-range effort.
The anticipated Clarets onslaught following that attempt failed to materialise, with Arijanet Muric forced into two saves in quick succession to keep out strikes from Patrick Roberts and Daniel Neil at the other end.
However, Ashley Barnes should have put the champions-elect in front after firing his strike over the bar from Josh Brownhill’s brilliant ball over the Sunderland defence.
Kompany's men were gradually moving through the gears as HT approached, with Brownhill thwarted thanks to Lynden Gooch's superb sliding block to clear the ball to safety.
The hosts continued to press forward after the break in an attempt to break down a stubborn Black Cats rearguard, and Anass Zaroury should have done better after flashing his shot wide at the far post at the end of a ball across the face of goal.
Tony Mowbray introduced Amad Diallo from the bench, and the young Ivorian almost gave the Wearsiders an unlikely lead when his deflected strike rebounded off the bar over a motionless Muric.
Had it gone in, the goal would have incensed the hosts, with Roberts appearing to be in an offside position in the build-up. It could have been even worse for the hosts when Jack Clarke’s ball creeped in past Muric, but their blushes were spared with Abdoullah Ba standing in an offside position.
In the end, the spoils were shared on a lacklustre evening for the Clarets, although this result surely only delays what will be an immediate return to the top-flight, with the gap between themselves and third-place Middelsbrough still at a healthy 17 points.
As for Sunderland, their run of scoring in 19 consecutive league games is over, but Mowbray will be pleased with this impressive point.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Daniel Neil (Sunderland)
