Sunderland maintained their Premier League home unbeaten record with a 0-0 draw against Manchester City on New Year’s Day.
A game of few chances saw the defences come out on top, while both Robin Roefs and Gianluigi Donnarumma made important saves when the backlines were finally breached.
This battling performance sees Sunderland remain seventh in the Premier League table, just four points off the top four. For City, meanwhile, it’s a major blow to their title hopes, with Arsenal now four points ahead at the summit as we reach the halfway point.
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Man City asleep at the wheel as injuries pile up
Man City headed north on a run of eight consecutive victories ahead of this match, so expectations were incredibly high. Simply put, they just did not deliver.
Whether it was some leftover Christmas weight — Pep Guardiola has made sure that’s not the case — a late night on New Year’s Eve, or just one of those days, City simply weren’t at the races here.
Too many times, they were slow on the ball, wanting too many touches and getting shoved off it by eager Sunderland players. Passes went astray, and Guardiola’s side were only able to sustain sporadic periods of sustained pressure.
A stat to sum up Man City’s performance was that Erling Haaland made more tackles than any other player in the first half (3).
To make matters worse, Man City sustained another two injuries, with both Nico Gonzalez and Savinho limping off with what looked like leg or hamstring problems.
That’s two more potential absences to a side that were already without two players due to the Africa Cup of Nations, and three more due to injury, right when the schedule is at its most packed. And that’s without mentioning the scare suffered by Nathan Ake, who stayed down for a lengthy period in the first half but managed to soldier on.
Man City have four games in the next 12 days and can ill afford to see their squad thinned any further.
Robin Roefs slams the door shut
For all Man City’s pedestrianism, they were still the side that looked most likely to win this one, a couple of decent openings for Elizer Mayenda and Brian Brobbey aside.
The Black Cats put in a monumental defensive effort, with the likes of Nordi Mukiele, Omar Alderete and Dennis Cirkin — the latter playing just his second Premier League match of the season — combining to make a whopping 32 clearances, 16 interceptions, 19 tackles and five blocks.
However, it was once again Robin Roefs who was the star of the show for the hosts.
The Dutch goalkeeper is very much in the mix to be named signing of the season, especially given how controversial his signing was after Anthony Patterson was so key to Sunderland’s promotion campaign.
But Roefs was there to keep the back door shut whenever his defence was breached again, denying Erling Haaland, Savinho and Josko Gvardiol from close range, all within a half-hour spell either side of half-time.
Sunderland’s unbeaten start to the season at home goes on, and Robin Roefs was once again a key reason why it did so.
What next for Sunderland and Man City?
As mentioned, Man City have a hectic period coming up. Across the month of January, the Cityzens will play another eight games in the Premier League, FA Cup and EFL Cup, in a run that includes Chelsea at home, Newcastle United in a semi-final first leg, the Manchester derby, and two European fixtures.
Man City’s next 5 fixtures:
- 04/01/26: Chelsea (H) – Premier League
- 07/01/26: Brighton (H) – Premier League
- 10/01/26: Exeter (H) – FA Cup
- 13/01/26: Newcastle (A) – EFL Cup
- 17/01/26: Man Utd (A) – Premier League
As for Sunderland, they face Tottenham and Brentford away between now and Wednesday, followed by Everton away in the FA Cup third round. Regis Le Bris will be thankful for a week’s break after that, before hosting Crystal Palace.
Sunderland’s next 5 fixtures:
- 04/01/26: Tottenham (A) – Premier League
- 07/01/26: Brentford (A) – Premier League
- 10/01/26: Everton (A) – FA Cup
- 17/01/26: Crystal Palace (H) – Premier League
- 24/01/26: West Ham (A) – Premier League