Manager Tony Mowbray felt Sunderland ‘dominated’ their 1-1 draw with Millwall despite relying on a late Jack Clarke penalty to rescue a point at The Den.
Kevin Nisbet gave Millwall a deserved lead after a superb delivery from Arsenal loanee Brooke Norton-Cuffy.
However, Clarke scored his 10th goal of the season with 12 minutes left to rescue a point for
the Black Cats, though Millwall’s Tom Bradshaw did have a goal disallowed for offside in the closing stages.
The result means Joe Edwards is still without a win at The Den since taking charge of The Lions while Sunderland are winless in three.
Mowbray said: “I thought we dominated the game, probably from start to finish apart from the last 10 minutes after we scored.
“You would expect us to be like The Alamo and go and get the winner but it was the other way really.
“We don’t look like we are going to score a goal and yet we can control the game. I think they had isolated breakaways, it is what they can do and it is ok.
“I think we dominated for long spells without looking like we were going to score.
“We don’t look like we are going to score a goal, why is that?
“I think it is because we have young attacking players, inexperienced attacking players who are not really ready to play for our team.
“And yet we have to play them and we are playing them and we are not suffering the results but we are trying to develop them and get them up to speed to be able to be a striker in the Championship.”
Jobe Bellingham, younger brother of Real Madrid star Jude, was an unused substitute.
Mowbray admitted he has a duty of care and does not want to overplay the 18-year-old.
The draw leaves Sunderland in ninth while Millwall are in 19th.
Edwards felt his side were always in the game despite enjoying far less possession.
He said: “I thought Sunderland started the game well and then we grew and after we got the first goal I felt there was a noticeable change in the team.
“We looked confident, the fans supported us well and it felt like we were building some nice momentum, although they pretty much dominated possession throughout the game.
“We always posed a threat and we looked confident in our defending.
“The way they use width and the wide players in their team, it causes everyone problems but I felt we dealt with it well.
“When you lead a game for so long and you don’t win it feels disappointing but I think you have to respect that they did have a lot of control of the game.
“In the second half, they mounted a lot of pressure as an away team so for me it is just areas where we can improve. I thought we did so well without the ball.
“We posed a threat on the break and in transition but I think we have just got to keep bridging that gap so we don’t have to play at our max like that just to take a point at home.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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