Brian Brobbey scored the winning goal as Sunderland completed a stunning comeback to beat 10-man Bournemouth 3-2 in the Premier League.
The Black Cats continue to be the surprise package on their return to the top flight, and remain unbeaten at the Stadium of Light this season.
But inside 15 minutes, that looked to be in doubt as Sunderland found themselves 2-0 down. There were some slices of luck about Bournemouth’s opener, with Evanilson’s initial shot pinging off the crossbar. Amine Adli was then waiting to poke home from close range.
The headlines would have belonged to Tyler Adams too after he scored the Cherries’ second from the halfway line on his 50th appearance for the club. He spotted Robin Roefs off his line and tried his luck, beating him with a fantastic hit that left the goalkeeper in a heap inside the goal.
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Tyler Adams scored a 47-yard wonder goal for Bournemouth at the Stadium of Light
But the lead would not last as Sunderland were awarded a penalty just before the half hour. Alex Scott caught Reinildo on the calf as the two were almost back to back, with the referee pointing to the spot. There was a lengthy VAR review in the aftermath too, which stuck with the on-field decision.
Enzo Le Fee then began the fightback, going high into the net with a super penalty which sparked life back into the Stadium of Light.
And less than a minute after the break, Sunderland were level. It was some brilliant play from Bertrand Traore and Granit Xhaka in the build-up, with the Black Cats captain playing a wonderful disguised pass for his team-mate. It was then a low finish from Traore for his first Sunderland goal.
The game continued apace, and less than 10 minutes after coming on, Brobbey completed the comeback. It came from a corner which the forward nodded home.
Bertrand Traore scored the equalising goal for Sunderland
But the drama was not finished. There was a lengthy spell of added time at the end of the second half and, with mere minutes to play, Lewis Cook was shown a straight red card after elbowing Reinildo. In a game that had 10 yellow cards – not including a couple for the Bournemouth bench – a sending off was perhaps no surprise.
The result saw Sunderland move into the top four ahead of the remaining games this weekend, while Bournemouth slip into ninth place. After a good start to the season, the Cherries will now end November without a win.
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Tim Sherwood was not best pleased after Evanilson decided to knock in a goal that was already ‘going in’ in Bournemouth’s game against Sunderland, making it offside