Match ends, Stoke City 1, Sunderland 1.
Stoke City 1-1 Sunderland
- From the section Football
Jermain Defoe's stoppage-time penalty rescued a dramatic point for Sunderland at Stoke, but Newcastle's win means the Black Cats drop into the bottom three.
Marko Arnautovic gave Stoke a controversial lead, firing home after Peter Crouch held off Black Cats defender Younes Kaboul inside the box.
Sunderland struggled to create chances in response, until Geoff Cameron tangled with Defoe in the 93rd minute.
Referee Craig Pawson pointed to the spot and Defoe stepped up to fire home.
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Newcastle's win over Palace means Sunderland are now a point adrift of safety, although they have a game in hand over their north-east rivals.
Norwich, who lost to Arsenal in Saturday's late game, are a point further back in 19th and have also played a game less than the Magpies..
Defoe to the rescue again
Defoe, so often Sunderland's saviour this season, had endured a frustrating afternoon at Britannia Stadium but found the net again when it mattered.
The former England striker had already had seven shots at goal against Stoke but only two of them were on target and neither effort troubled Stoke keeper Jakob Haugaard.
He persevered until the end, however, and got his reward when he turned Cameron and was about to shoot when he was adjudged to have been fouled for his penalty.
Stoke manager Mark Hughes described it as a "poor decision" but Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce said it was "a blatant penalty - he went straight through the back of Jermain because he knew he was through".
Defoe has now scored 10 goals in his last 11 away games, and 11 of his 14 league goals have come on the road.
His latest strike earned what Allardyce described as a "precious" point, but the Black Cats have still ended up deeper in relegation danger.
Sunderland have now lost only one of their last eight games, but they have drawn six of those matches.
Man of the match - Sunderland's Jermain Defoe
Crouch makes his presence count
Crouch, Defoe's former strike partner at Tottenham and Portsmouth, had helped give Stoke the upper hand after being given only his third league start of the season.
The 35-year-old's aerial presence had caused Sunderland problems whenever Stoke put the ball into their box and played a big part in their goal.
"It was a blatant foul on Kaboul," Allardyce said.
Kaboul also felt he was impeded but after the game Crouch denied he had fouled the Black Cats defender as he nodded Charlie Adam's cross into the path of Arnautovic.
Stoke, who had shipped four goals in each of their last three games, had chances to make sure of victory but remain safely in mid-table despite missing out on the three points.
Potters boss Mark Hughes said: "Their penalty was a soft one and it was difficult to take, certainly we were the better team."
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Defoe v Crouch - honours even
Defoe and Crouch both played a big part in their team's goals but Defoe's only efforts on target other than his penalty were both tame and from outside the box (green arrows in the left-hand graphic above).
Crouch's controversial assist set up Stoke's goal but he did not often trouble Black Cats keeper Jakob Haugaard directly. He had a shot from the edge of the area blocked (the yellow circle in the right-hand graphic) and only one of his two headers at goal brought a save.
What next?
Stoke travel to Selhurst Park next weekend to play Crystal Palace, while Sunderland's survival bid could well be decided at Stadium of Light - their next two matches, against Chelsea and Everton, are at home, before a final-day trip to Watford.
The stats you need to know
- Only Harry Kane (14) and Riyad Mahrez (12) have scored more away goals in the Premier League this season than Jermain Defoe (11).
- No Stoke player has scored more in a Premier League season than Arnautovic has this campaign (11).
- The Potters have now gone eight Premier League games without keeping a clean sheet thanks to Defoe's late equaliser.
Line-ups
Stoke
- 29Haugaard
- 2Bardsley
- 17Shawcross
- 20Cameron
- 3Pieters
- 6Whelan
- 21ImbulaBooked at 82mins
- 22ShaqiriSubstituted forDioufat 78'minutes
- 16AdamBooked at 74minsSubstituted forMuniesaat 86'minutes
- 10ArnautovicSubstituted forWaltersat 56'minutes
- 25Crouch
Substitutes
- 5Muniesa
- 11Joselu
- 18Diouf
- 19Walters
- 26Wollscheid
- 27Bojan
- 35Bachmann
Sunderland
- 25Mannone
- 24Yedlin
- 23Koné
- 15Kaboul
- 3van Aanholt
- 27KirchhoffSubstituted forLarssonat 77'minutesBooked at 90mins
- 9BoriniSubstituted forN'Doyeat 59'minutesBooked at 79mins
- 21M'Vila
- 6Cattermole
- 22KhazriSubstituted forWatmoreat 60'minutes
- 18Defoe
Substitutes
- 2Jones
- 7Larsson
- 8Rodwell
- 10N'Doye
- 13Pickford
- 16O'Shea
- 41Watmore
- Referee:
- Craig Pawson
- Attendance:
- 27,667
Match Stats
Home TeamStokeAway TeamSunderland
- Possession
- Home54%
- Away46%
- Shots
- Home11
- Away14
- Shots on Target
- Home3
- Away5
- Corners
- Home2
- Away8
- Fouls
- Home13
- Away13
Live Text
Full Time
Second Half ends, Stoke City 1, Sunderland 1.
Geoff Cameron (Stoke City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jermain Defoe (Sunderland).
Goal!
Goal! Stoke City 1, Sunderland 1. Jermain Defoe (Sunderland) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the centre of the goal.
Penalty conceded by Geoff Cameron (Stoke City) after a foul in the penalty area.
Penalty Sunderland. Jermain Defoe draws a foul in the penalty area.
Attempt blocked. Jermain Defoe (Sunderland) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Duncan Watmore.
Attempt missed. Giannelli Imbula (Stoke City) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Jonathan Walters with a through ball.
Attempt missed. Glenn Whelan (Stoke City) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left following a set piece situation.
Booking
Sebastian Larsson (Sunderland) is shown the yellow card.
Peter Crouch (Stoke City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Sebastian Larsson (Sunderland).
Attempt saved. Sebastian Larsson (Sunderland) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Foul by Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City).
Dame N'Doye (Sunderland) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Marc Muniesa.
Substitution
Substitution, Stoke City. Marc Muniesa replaces Charlie Adam.
Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Glenn Whelan.
Booking
Giannelli Imbula (Stoke City) is shown the yellow card.
Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Ryan Shawcross.
Attempt blocked. Jermain Defoe (Sunderland) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Duncan Watmore.
Foul by Mame Biram Diouf (Stoke City).
Patrick van Aanholt (Sunderland) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Booking
Dame N'Doye (Sunderland) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Erik Pieters (Stoke City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Dame N'Doye (Sunderland).
Substitution
Substitution, Stoke City. Mame Biram Diouf replaces Xherdan Shaqiri.
Substitution
Substitution, Sunderland. Sebastian Larsson replaces Jan Kirchhoff.
Attempt missed. Jermain Defoe (Sunderland) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Jan Kirchhoff with a cross.
Attempt saved. Glenn Whelan (Stoke City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Booking
Charlie Adam (Stoke City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Charlie Adam (Stoke City).
Yann M'Vila (Sunderland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Phil Bardsley (Stoke City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Dame N'Doye (Sunderland).
Attempt missed. Charlie Adam (Stoke City) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right from a direct free kick.
Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Dame N'Doye (Sunderland).
Phil Bardsley (Stoke City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
