'One of the best performances I've seen from Sunderland this season'
[Getty Images] BBC Radio Newcastle's Nick Barnes says some of the football played in Saturday's home draw against Manchester United was "the best we've seen from Sunderland this season". Despite failing to find the net in the goalless stalemate, the Black Cats limited United to just one shot on target, had higher possession and registered an xG (expected goals) of 1. 17 compared to the visitor's 0.
66. "I think it was a big performance against a good team. You'd have to say the result was positive although it was only a draw," Barnes said.
"It was a really good performance backed up with a lot of players playing well. "We have talked about Sunderland plateauing this past month or two but I thought some of the football on Saturday was the best we've seen from Sunderland this season. "You could see the triangles moving up the pitch, everybody kept in close contact with each other quick passing, and Manchester United were struggling to come to terms with that speed.
I thought some of the passing that Sunderland were putting together was very impressive. "The only low point was the start of the second half when I felt they were struggling to get into the game, but I think the crowd then got behind them and got them re-energised. I thought that overall, that was one of the best performances I've seen from Sunderland this season.
" Listen to the full chat below or on BBC Sounds