The mercury reading might’ve plummeted to well below zero by the time the Lads and the Etihad aristocrats kicked off on New Year’s Day, but after ninety-plus minutes of fast, furious and fascinating football, the Stadium Of Light had warmed up nicely — even as 40,000+ headed for the exits and into the icy grip […]
The mercury reading might’ve plummeted to well below zero by the time the Lads and the Etihad aristocrats kicked off on New Year’s Day, but after ninety-plus minutes of fast, furious and fascinating football, the Stadium Of Light had warmed up nicely — even as 40,000+ headed for the exits and into the icy grip of a winter Wearside night.
The outcome? 0-0. The conclusion? Sunderland can play. We can mix it. We can stand firm and we can deliver results from seemingly improbable situations.
Stripped of our AFCON contingent and the injured Dan Ballard, the smart money might’ve been on a routine victory for Pep Guardiola’s ever-evolving and ruthlessly slick footballing machine.
However, I don’t think Régis Le Bris nor his players believe in the “smart money” theory — just as legendary Australian batsman Don Bradman claimed he didn’t believe in the law of averages — and as Sunderland’s reshuffled side held firm to deny the visitors a victory (perhaps throwing a spanner into their title works in the process) how could you not feel a sense of overwhelming pride at this side’s development, ability and commitment to the cause?
My goodness, this really is a team to be proud of.
It’s a group of players blessed with a unique mixture of skill and steel; of physicality and growing football intelligence, and under the watchful eye of Le Bris, we’re adding real value to the league, standing firm in the face of any and all challenges — and on this occasion, defending our unbeaten home record with incredible ferocity.
After such a superb team display, I could throw some names into the mix and appraise them duly, so I shall.
Dennis Cirkin? Outstanding. The victim of some frankly disgraceful criticism in some quarters, the left back handled the occasion and the opposition superbly, showing composure, positional awareness and no lack of attacking instinct. This was exactly the kind of performance he would’ve hoped for, and Reinildo’s absence may be less worrisome as a result.
Robin Roefs? Colosssal. He’s just that good. Simon Adingra? Unbelievably industrious. Brian Brobbey? A handful all evening. Eliezer Mayenda? A real livewire. He played like a man with a point to prove and added some fresh impetus to the red and white attack.
On and on it could go, because each of the lads in red and white did themselves proud on Thursday evening.
Simply put, they weren’t content to shut up shop and hope for a City off-night. Instead, they took the game to the visitors, made life tough for them and could’ve easily emerged as victors had some of the outstanding chances we created been converted.
City captain Bernardo Silva has form for lamenting occasions on which opposing teams don’t roll over, sit back and allow his side to dominate — so what would he have felt in the aftermath of this outstanding Sunderland display?
Sometimes, it’s just not your night.
An early City goal being ruled out for offside might not have seemed alarming for Guardiola and his men, but as the game unfolded and Sunderland probed, pressed and chased without mercy, it became clear that this wasn’t going to be the walkover that many — including this writer — feared.
Erling Haaland simply wasn’t able to influence proceedings; Phil Foden was relatively quiet and in the City goal, I didn’t think Gianluigi Donnarumma was the tower of strength and composure that Ederson used to be, either.
In contrast, the Lads were steadfast in their refusal to be breached.
Even without Ballard, the central defensive partnership of Nordi Mukiele and Omar Alderete was immense and there was no lack of aggression in midfield, either. If this is the kind of result a team affected by absences can achieve, what’s possible with some January reinforcements and the return of the lads currently representing their countries in Morocco?
In the context of our season, this felt like a huge bonus for Sunderland; the sort of point you grab with both hands, add to the total and reflect on a job very well done.
When Arsenal visited Wearside earlier in the season, we gave them a bit of a shock by rallying from 1-2 down to draw 2-2. To me, this felt even more significant — another outstanding display against a world class outfit from a side that you simply can’t fail to love.
In victory, the players conduct themselves as winners should.
In defeat, there’s a calm period of reflection and when we shook hands with our opponent after sharing the points on New Year’s Day, we could allow ourselves a moment to digest the fact that we blunted one of English football’s finest teams and ensured that we kicked off 2026 on another hugely positive note.
That’s something to which we can all raise a glass.
Premier League
1 January 2026
Stadium Of Light
Attendance: 46,920
Sunderland: 0
Manchester City: 0
Sunderland: Roefs, Hume, Mukiele; Alderete, Cirkin, Geertruida; Xhaka, Mayenda, Le Fée; Adingra (Mundle 72’), Brobbey (Isidor 58’)
Subs Not Used: Patterson, Hjelde, O’Nien, Jones, Rigg, Neil, Tutierov
Manchester City: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias; Ake, O’Reilly (Gvardiol 57’), Bernardo Silva (Reijnders 85’); González (Rodri 46’), Foden, Cherki; Savinho (Doku 51’), Haaland
Subs Not Used: Trafford, Heskey, Khusanov, Mukasa, Lewis
Category: General Sports
