Share

Villa, Sunderland in stalemate

Birmingham - Ten-man Aston Villa held on for a 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland on Sunday as the two teams inched away from the Premier League relegation zone.

Villa extended their unbeaten run against the Black Cats to seven games but suffered from the absence of joint top scorer Gabby Agbonlahor, who was serving a one match suspension for picking up five yellow cards.

Kieran Richardson was also suspended for Paul Lambert's side while Joe Cole, Ashley Westwood, Philippe Senderos and Nathan Baker were all out injured.

The home side edged possession and attempts on goal during a scoreless first-half but Villa's task was complicated three minutes after the restart when Fabian Delph was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge.

Villa also made it nine matches on the trot in which they have conceded one goal or less while Sunderland extended their unbeaten streak on the road to five games.

Aston Villa climb to 21 points and five above Crystal Palace in the final relegation spot while Gus Poyet's men are now on 20 points.

Sunderland poured forward with their numerical advantage and rained down 15 shots on target with Jordi Gomez blasting a shot off the post from just outside the box in the dying moments.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
26% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1470 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2249 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE