Sunderland's relegation fight after a 2-2 draw with Liverpool

Sunderland produced a wonderful, spirited performance against one of the league's strongest sides, Liverpool. The match at the Stadium of Light finished 2-2 after plenty of late drama. Even so, the Black Cats continued to show many defensive weaknesses and allowed their opponents to create far too many scoring chances over the ninety minutes. Goalkeeper Mannone, who was kept busy all afternoon, could be proud of his performance after saving several difficult shots.

Liverpool took the lead in the 19th minute from a corner, Daniel Sturridge heading in after Lovren's assist. The Black Cats responded well, put together several good attacks and were awarded a penalty, which Jermain Defoe converted in the 25th minute.

Sadio Mané restored the Reds' lead after the break, taking advantage of poor marking by the Sunderland defenders to score from about three metres out. Just 12 minutes later, however, Mané handled the ball in the box and gave Defoe the chance to score again from the spot. The experienced Englishman calmly struck his 11th goal of the 2016/17 season to bring Sunderland level.

So far, the season for Sunderland looks almost identical to the previous one. The Black Cats had 15 points after their first 20 matches in 2015/16, exactly the same as now, and their first league win came at roughly the same stage of both campaigns. And at the end of the 2015/16 season, against the odds, Sunderland avoided relegation. The task will be just as difficult again, but there are no easy matches in the Premier League. For those willing to back tradition, which counts for a lot in English football, the odds on Sunderland avoiding relegation stand at 2.75.

The great escape of 2016

The comparison with the previous campaign explains why some supporters still believed. In 2015–16 Sunderland spent long spells of the season in the relegation zone, and the decision to appoint Sam Allardyce as manager in October 2015 was the turning point. Survival was secured on 11 May 2016 with a 3-0 home win over Everton, in which Lamine Koné scored twice and Patrick van Aanholt added a free-kick. That result relegated both Newcastle United and Norwich City, and Sunderland finished the season in 17th place.

In July 2016 Allardyce left to become manager of the England national team, and David Moyes took charge for the 2016–17 season. The start under the new manager was difficult, which is why the Black Cats again found themselves near the bottom of the table by the turn of the year.

The Liverpool match in context

The draw with Liverpool on 2 January 2017 drew a crowd of 46,494 to the Stadium of Light, the biggest home attendance of Sunderland's season. Jermain Defoe's two penalties were part of a productive individual campaign: he finished the 2016–17 Premier League season with 15 league goals, which made him the club's top scorer.

How the season ended

This time there was no escape. On 29 April 2017 Sunderland lost 1-0 at home to Bournemouth, Josh King scoring late in the game, and relegation was confirmed with four matches still to play. The defeat ended a run of ten consecutive seasons in the Premier League. Sunderland finished bottom of the table with 24 points from 38 games, having won only six of them, and were 16 points short of safety.

David Moyes resigned shortly after the final match of the season, in May 2017, leaving without compensation, according to the club's chairman Ellis Short. In January the bookmakers had still offered a price on another great escape, but the 2016–17 campaign turned out very differently from the one before it.

The fall did not stop there. In April 2018 Sunderland suffered a second consecutive relegation, this time to League One. The way back took years: on 24 May 2025 they came from 1-0 down to beat Sheffield United 2-1 in the Championship play-off final, with Eliezer Mayenda scoring and Tom Watson adding a stoppage-time winner, and returned to the Premier League after an eight-year absence.